Smoking and passive smoking increases the chances of hearing loss, a study by the University of Manchester suggests.
For the study, the researchers observed 164,770 people aged between 40 and 69 who took part in a hearing test between 2007 and 2010. They were part of the national UK Biobank project.
The study showed that people who smoked had 15.1 percent risk of hearing loss compared to those who did not. Passive smokers had the highest risk of losing their hearing entirely, 28 percent.
Researchers said that the risk of hearing loss was less in those who quit smoking. "Given around 20 percent of the UK population smoke and up to 60 percent in some countries, smoking may represent a significant cause of hearing loss worldwide. We found the more packets you smoke per week and the longer you smoke, the greater the risk you will damage your hearing," lead study researcher Dr Piers Dawes, from the Centre for Human Communication and Deafness at the University of Manchester, said in a press release.
Researchers were unable to establish a reason between smoking and hearing loss. Dr Dawes said that the team is unsure whether the toxins in tobacco affect hearing directly or whether cardiovascular diseases resulting from smoking lead to microvascular alterations that impact hearing ability or both.
"Hearing loss affects 10 million people in the UK and with an aging population is set to become a major public health issue. Hearing loss is often viewed as an inevitable consequence of aging, but as the research published today shows, this may not always be the case. Giving up smoking and protecting your ears from loud noise are two practical steps people can take today to prevent hearing loss later in life," said Dr Ralph Holme, Head of Biomedical Research at Action on Hearing Loss.
The study was published in the journal of the 'Association for Research in Otolaryngology'.
