Link between Hearing Loss & Secondhand Smoke

Are you a smoker who is trying to quit? You may know the health risks of smoking well such as lung and heart disease—however, people smoke for many reasons. Some people say it helps relieve their stress, increases pleasure, or helps with anxiety in social situations. The truth is that any rationalization around tobacco use is connected to the highly addictive properties of nicotine. Many people keep smoking to avoid the pain of withdrawal symptoms such as feeling irritated, grouchy, anxious, or depressed. However, on the other side of tobacco use is a life where you can breathe deeper and increase the benefits to your health including reduced heart rate, a reduced risk of lung and heart disease and a lesser-known fact—a reduced risk of hearing loss. 

If you are less concerned with damage to your own health—then consider this: even secondhand smoke can increase the risk of hearing loss, which means your health choices are not only affecting you but your significant other, roommates and children!

What is Secondhand Smoke?

Secondhand smoke, also known as passive smoking, occurs when you share the air with people who smoke. Even though you are not a smoker you are still inhaling the fumes of cigarettes. This can happen at a party or gathering where smoking is present, especially indoors. However, those at the greatest risk for secondhand smoke are those who live with a smoker such as children of smokers, family members or other cohabitants. Living with a smoker can be nearly as damaging as smoking firsthand, increasing the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and hearing loss. 

Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products are Ototoxic!

Ototoxicity occurs when the inner ear or auditory nerve is exposed to pharmaceutical or chemical exposure causing inner ear or vestibular dysfunction. First and secondhand smoke contains several poisonous gasses and chemicals, which are classified as ototoxic including:

• hydrogen cyanide -used in chemical weapons
• carbon monoxide – present in car exhaust 
• butane – used in lighter fluid
• ammonia – found in household cleaners
• toluene – a chemical present in paint thinners

A Connection Between Secondhand Smoke and Hearing Loss

Many studies have linked secondhand smoke with damage to hearing:

A study published in 2018 by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Japan cross examined data on 50,195 smokers and nonsmokers, between the ages of 20 – 64 without hearing loss at the start of the study. Over eight years the researchers took note of smoking habits and hearing health.  At the conclusion of the study’s cycle, they found that 5,100 study participants had developed hearing loss.  They were able to quantize this to show that smokers were 60% more likely to develop high frequency hearing loss and 20% more likely to develop low frequency hearing loss.

They found that the more an individual smoked, the higher the risk of hearing loss. In fact, those who smoked as much as 10 cigarettes daily (half a pack) were 40% more likely, and those who smoked more than 20 (more than a pack a day) had a 70% chance of hearing loss.

In another notable study from New York University in 2011, researchers focused on the effects of secondhand smoke for hearing health. Based on data collected from 1,533 participants, between the ages of 12-19 years old, who did not smoke but lived with a smoker they determined that participants who were exposed to secondhand smoke were nearly twice as likely to develop low and high frequency hearing loss! 

Impact of Smoke on Hearing

The nicotine in tobacco products not only is addictive but along with carbon monoxide, can damage the auditory system by constricting blood vessels which can restrict blood flow to the inner ear. While we collect sound with our ears, hearing is completed when it is received by the brain. Damage to the cells of the inner ear hinders connection with the brain causing permanent hearing loss. In addition, the risk of hearing loss is increased as nicotine and carbon monoxide disrupt neurotransmitters, scrambling audio signals to the brain. 

Protecting Your Hearing Health

If you need one more reason to quit smoking, think about not only how hearing loss can keep you from connecting to the people in your life but the impact of secondhand smoke on the hearing of your children and family. A change can start today! schedule a hearings exam with us!