Current Event
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101115210941.htm
Secondhand Smoke Exposure Increases Risk of Hearing Loss
Previous research indicates that former and current smokers are more likely to lose some of their full range of hearing, but it's not been known whether passive smokers are also prone to this. The authors drew on 1999-2004 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a yearly household survey combined with a physical examination of a representative sample of the US population. In all, a total of 3307 adults aged between 20 and 69 were included in the final analysis. They had all had their hearing tested, and were classified as passive smokers according to levels of a constituent of tobacco smoke (cotinine) in their blood. They were also able to provide information on their medical history, levels of noise exposure, and whether they had ever smoked or lived/worked with a smoker. The degree of hearing loss in each ear was assessed by testing the ability to hear pure tones over a range of frequencies from 500 Hz (low) to 8000 Hz (high). Men, those who were older, and those with diabetes were significantly more likely to have high frequency hearing loss. And this was true of those who were former smokers and those who had never smoked.
This article is about how studies have shown that you could suffer from hearing loss if you are a second hand smoker. This Article is important because we are now aware of this and we can now avoid being a second hand smoker.