Passive Smoking Linked to Hearing Damage

By Geoff Michaels, April 26th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

Experts reporting in the journal Tobacco Control tested over 3,000 non-smoking adults to find out whether such a link existed. The volunteers had their blood tested for cotinine, a by-product of nicotine, which is produced when the body comes into contact with tobacco smoke, and discovered that those who had cotinine in their body were likely to have impaired hearing. Passive smoking lifted their risk of hearing loss by around a third in total.

Experts explain that essentially, smoking disrupts blood flow in the small vessels of the ear, which can starve the organ of oxygen and lead to a build up of toxic waste, causing damage. This damage is different to that caused by ageing or noise exposure.

Passive smoking has previously been linked to numerous illnesses that are typically associated with long-term smoking, such as lung cancer and heart conditions. Doctors say children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke. One study earlier went even further, by showing that young people are threatened by third hand smoke, which resides on furniture and curtains long after smokers have left a room.

Campaigners have called for smoking to be banned inside of cars, to protect children’s health.

Research such as that carried out in the Tobacco Control journal adds to the reasons why people may want to give up smoking. Studies consistently show that most smokers want to kick the habit. The majority of these people cite worries about their health, their finances, and the health of their family as major motivating factors.