Smoking tied to hearing loss

Smoking and high body mass index (BMI) increase the risk of hearing loss, says a European study that included 4 083 people in seven countries.

The more years a person smoked, the greater their risk of high-frequency hearing loss, said the study, which also found that people with higher BMIs had more pronounced hearing loss across the frequency range tested, CBC News reported.

Interestingly, moderate alcohol consumption appeared to protect against hearing loss. The study was published online in the Journal for Research in Otolaryngology.

The researchers couldn't explain their findings, but noted that smoking and high BMI lead to cardiovascular disease, which has been linked in previous studies to hearing loss, CBC News reported. And previous research has suggested that moderate alcohol consumption may help protect the heart. – (HealthDayNews)

Read more:
Stop smoking Centre
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June, 2008