We've long known that smoking is bad for your ears. But recently-published research has given us insight into just how damaging it can be. First appearing in the January 2022 edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association's Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the cross-sectional study is the product of three decades of work.
Association of Cigarette Smoking Patterns Over 30 Years With Audiometric Hearing Impairment and Speech-in-Noise Perception divided 3,414 participants into three groups:
- Those who never smoked or stopped smoking before the study.
- Those who stopped smoking during the study period.
- Those who continued to smoke throughout the study.
"Persistent smoking was associated with a worse speech-frequency pure-tone average and Quick Speech-in-Noise test score," the study reads. "The findings suggest that, compared with never or former smoking and quitting during the study period, persistent smoking may be associated with worse hearing impairment in older adults; thus, quitting smoking at any time may be beneficial for hearing health."
It's somewhat interesting that ex-smokers were placed in the same group as those who never smoked at all. But it's perhaps even more interesting that former smokers scored noticeably higher on hearing tests than those who continued to smoke throughout the study. Even those who quit over the course of the study saw a noticeable improvement.
It's also worth noting that the study also found that secondhand smoke potentially has just as much of an adverse effect.
Non-smokers living with a smoker during the study were found to be twice as likely to acquire hearing loss compared to those who were never exposed to secondhand smoke. This is consistent with other research on the topic. Studies have found that, among other things, exposure to secondhand smoke can also
further the progression of cigarette-related hearing loss. Secondhand smoke has also been identified as harmful to adolescents, potentially
tripling their risk of developing sensorineural hearing loss.