Vital signs: hazards: tobacco smoke can affect hearing

The long list of the harmful effects of tobacco smoke to add yet another element: hearing loss in teens.

Researchers, writing in the July issue of the archives of Otolaryngology - Head and neck surgery, an indicator of exposure to tobacco smoke and cotinine more than 2,000 young people tested. After the removal of smokers from the trial, they remained the cotinine levels 799 non smoking exposure to tobacco smoke, with 754 display that were exposed to not smoke.

Of control many variables they, found that the higher the cotinine level in the blood of the person the greater the likelihood that it was some type of hearing loss. More than 17% in the, highest quartile for cotinine levels had hearing loss at low frequencies.

It is not clear, just as exposure to tobacco smoke could cause the damage, but tobacco is known that the smallest blood vessels affect blood flow, the type depends on the inner ear

"Most of the children, about 85 percent, their hearing loss, were not aware," said Dr. Anil k. Lalwani, the main author of the study. "You can rely on self reports."

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