Smoking damages hearing

The study, conducted by the University of Antwerp in Belgium, involved 4,000 men and women aged 53 to 67. They were tested for hearing, lifestyle and workplace.

Research has shown that people with hearing loss have a better ability to perceive high-frequency sounds.smokeand obesity are significantly damaged: "Hearing loss is directly proportional to the level of smoking and body mass index. It will get worse if you smoke continuously for more than 1 year. In addition, unlike other parts of the body, once damaged, it cannot be reversed."

Smoking damages hearing. Photo: Internet

Smoking and obesity disrupt blood flow to the ears, causing a lack of oxygen, and also prevent toxic waste from being removed from the ears, thus damaging hearing, researchers say.

The anti-smoking group Action for Health said this should serve as a warning to young smokers: "Many young people think they will quit smoking when they get older and escape the associated diseases. But in some cases, the effects of smoking have already taken place and cannot be reversed."

A 2013 study found that passive smoking and inhalation of smokecigarettecauses mild sensorineural hearing loss in children aged 5 to 11 years. Sensorineural hearing loss involves damage to the lining of hair cells in the cochlea or damage to the auditory nerve. Unlike hearing loss involving the outer or middle ear, sensorineural hearing loss is severe and cannot currently be treated.

The numerous dangerous chemicals in cigarette smoke, including formaldehyde, benzene, arsenic, vinyl chloride, ammonia, and hydrogen cyanide, can affect both conductive hearing (middle ear vibrations) and inner ear hearing by damaging the arrangements of hair cells in the cochlea. Hearing loss associated with smoking depends on the number of cigarettes smoked.