Previous research indicates that current and former smokers are more likely to lose some of their hearing range, but it is not known if passive smokers are also susceptible to this.
The authors drew data from 1999 to 2004 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), an annual survey of households combined with examination of a representative sample of the population American.
Altogether, a total of 3307 adults aged between 20 and 69 have been included in finale.Ils analysis had all their hearing tested and have been classified as passive smokers as a component of the smoke of tobacco (cotinine) levels in the blood.
They could also provide information about their medical history, the levels of exposure to noise, as well as they had never smoked or lived and worked with a smoker.
The degree of hearing loss in each ear was evaluated by testing the capacity of pure sounds on a range of frequencies of 500 Hz (low) to 8,000 Hz (high).
Men, those who were older, and those with diabetes were much more likely to have impaired hearing high fréquence.Et was the case of those who were former smokers and those who have never smoked.
But, even after taking into account these factors, both former and passive smoking have been associated with a hearing impairment.
Former smokers were significantly more likely to have a disability auditive.La prevalence of hearing loss low frequency in the middle of this group was 14 %.Et half (more than 46 per cent) had a loss hearing high frequency (more than 25 decibels).
Although the risk is also high among those who had never smoked, from 1 to 10 (8.6%) low frequency environmental arguments loss and one in four (26.6%) had a loss high-frequency hearing.
And the strongest results among former smokers suggest that continues to passive smoking in the group, even at low levels could continue the progression of high frequency hearing loss which started when they were smokers, say the authors.
"Research is needed to determine if [passive smoking] potentiates the effects of aging on the hearing and exposure to noise," they conclude. "If this result is confirmed independently, and then hearing loss can be added to the growing list of reinvented tobacco smoke exposure-related health consequences.»
Editor's note: this article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Source of the story:
The story above is reproduced (with drafting adaptations by staff at PharmaLive.com) materials provided by BMJ-British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited for this.
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