{"id":778,"date":"2022-03-11T16:42:41","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T22:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/?p=778"},"modified":"2022-03-11T16:43:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T22:43:41","slug":"the-link-between-smoking-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/the-link-between-smoking-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"The Link Between Smoking &#038; Hearing Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The two most commonly-known risk factors for hearing loss include aging and noise exposure. But did you know that, in addition to a host of other health concerns, smoking cigarettes is <a href=\"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/hearing-loss\/hearing-loss-causes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">linked to hearing loss<\/a>, as well? We review the connection below.<\/p>\n<h2>What the Research Shows<\/h2>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"cigarette-hearing-loss-risk\" src=\"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cigarette-hearing-loss-risk-768x512.jpg\" alt=\"A lit cigarette sitting on a ledge outside.\" width=\"283\" height=\"188\" class=\"wp-image-780 alignright\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cigarette-hearing-loss-risk-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cigarette-hearing-loss-risk.jpg 1050w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 283px) 100vw, 283px\" \/><\/h2>\n<p>Quite a bit of research has been done on the link between smoking and hearing loss. For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/ntr\/article-abstract\/21\/4\/481\/4925604?login=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> of 50,000 Japanese workers found that smokers are 60% more likely to develop high-frequency hearing loss compared to nonsmokers.<\/li>\n<li>Nonsmokers who live with smokers are twice as likely to develop hearing loss than those not exposed to secondhand smoke, according to an older <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/187596\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> published by <em> <\/em><\/li>\n<li>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4117391\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> on secondhand smoke published in 2011 found that teens exposed to cigarette smoke are two to three times more likely to develop hearing loss compared to those with little or no exposure.<\/li>\n<li>A 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5855477\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">review<\/a> of 20 studies found that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that smoking is associated with tinnitus (ringing in the ears).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How Smoking Affects Hearing<\/h2>\n<p>Nicotine and carbon monoxide \u2013 both of which are found in cigarettes \u2013 lower blood oxygen levels and constrict blood vessels throughout your body, including in the inner ear. This leads to damage of the stereocilia, which are tiny hair cells that convert soundwaves into electrical energy that the brain interprets as sound.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, nicotine and cigarette smoke are thought to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Interfere with the neurotransmitters in the auditory nerve.<\/li>\n<li>Irritate the lining of the middle ear and the Eustachian tubes.<\/li>\n<li>Release free radicals that cause disease.<\/li>\n<li>Sensitize you to loud noises like a strike at <a href=\"https:\/\/melslonestarlanes.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mel\u2019s Lone Star Lanes<\/a> and make you more susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Benefits of Quitting Smoking<\/h2>\n<p>There are many benefits to quitting smoking, and many of them start to take effect right away. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lung.org\/quit-smoking\/i-want-to-quit\/benefits-of-quitting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American Lung Association<\/a> reports that 20 minutes after smoking your last cigarette, your blood pressure and circulation improve; within eight hours, your carbon monoxide and oxygen levels return to normal; within 48 hours, your sense of taste and smell improve and your nerve endings start to regenerate.<\/p>\n<p>While quitting smoking won\u2019t reverse the damage that\u2019s already been done to your ears, it can <a href=\"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/hearing-loss\/hearing-loss-faq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prevent future damage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the link between smoking and hearing loss or to schedule an appointment with an expert audiologist to seek treatment, call <span class=\"company-name \">Hill Country Audiology<\/span> today.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"related-posts\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/can-poor-nutrition-cause-hearing-loss\/\" class=\"related-post\">Can Poor Nutrition Cause Hearing Loss?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/untreated-hearing-loss-may-make-you-vulnerable-to-financial-scams\/\" class=\"related-post\">Untreated Hearing Loss May Make You Vulnerable to Financial Scams<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/is-there-a-connection-between-high-cholesterol-and-hearing-loss\/\" class=\"related-post\">Is There a Connection Between High Cholesterol and Hearing Loss?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The two most commonly-known risk factors for hearing loss include aging and noise exposure. But did you know that, in addition to a host of other health concerns, smoking cigarettes is linked to hearing loss, as well? We review the connection below. What the Research Shows Quite a bit of research has been done on&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Quite a bit of research has been done on the link between smoking and hearing loss.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":782,"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778\/revisions\/782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hcaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}