Secondhand Smoke Affects Hearing
A recent study found that secondhand smoke doesn't affect just the respiratory systems of children, but their hearing as well. What did the research show about how secondhand smoke affects hearing?
Researchers from New York University Langone Medical Center found that teens exposed to secondhand smoke were more likely to experience hearing loss in one or both ears. It is estimated that about 60 percent of children are exposed to secondhand smoke. Those children stand a 1.5 times greater risk of experiencing hearing loss than their counterparts who aren't exposed to secondhand smoke.
Secondhand smoke has been known to cause respiratory problems in exposed children. Researchers think it could be because blood flow is constricted in the ears when someone is exposed to cigarette smoke.
The auditory and respiratory systems can affect each other as well. When your child has a throat infection, sometimes it can make it feel like the ears hurt, and vice versa. When your child has a cough and congestion, he or she may also have congestion in the ear canal.
A nicotine compound was found in the blood of affected teens from the secondhand smoke. It is unsure if this compound directly influences hearing loss or if it is just one way to see what teens will be at risk for hearing loss due to exposure to secondhand smoke.
Actual research studies can't be performed to expose children to secondhand smoke to see if there is a direct correlation between secondhand smoke and hearing loss. However, observations were made in children already being exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes.
This writer wonders how much secondhand smoke is responsible or is it a combination of the secondhand smoke and personal listening devices that so many children use nowadays. The secondhand smoke can definitely affect health including hearing, but so can listening to music too loud in earphones. It is not clear whether or not the researchers took personal listening devices into account or not. More observational studies will be needed to confirm how much of the hearing loss is due to secondhand smoke and if other variables contribute or not.
REFERENCE:
Anil K. Lalwant, MD; Secondhand Smoke and Sensoineural Hearing Loss in Adolescents; Archives of Otolaryngology
http://archotol.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/137/7/655
Published by Jolynne M Hudnell
Jolynne is a part-time freelance writer and independently-published poet. Jolynne has knowledge and experience in a variety of topics. Jolynne enjoys singing and writing poetry. Her published work in... View profile
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