{"id":1632,"date":"2021-01-15T23:26:51","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T23:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianahearingspecialists.com\/?p=1632"},"modified":"2021-01-15T23:26:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T23:26:51","slug":"smokers-are-at-a-greater-risk-of-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianahearingspecialists.com\/smokers-are-at-a-greater-risk-of-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Smokers Are at a Greater Risk of Hearing Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s common knowledge that smoking affects your lungs, making it difficult to go for a run in Eagle Creek Park<\/a>, but the habit can also impact your hearing, which in turn can harm your communication with loved ones. A recent study published in The American Journal of Medicine reveals that both current and past female smokers are at an increased risk of developing hearing loss.<\/p>\n

About the Study<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/h2>\n

The study<\/a>, published in May of 2020 and conducted by experts from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Medical School, sought to fill a research gap. While previous studies have demonstrated a higher risk of hearing loss among cigarette smokers, longitudinal data on whether smoking cessation impacts this risk was, and still is, limited.<\/p>\n

Researchers examined data from 81,505 women involved in the American Nurse\u2019s Health Study II (1991-2013). 2,760 participants had hearing loss. Of these, 66.5% of participants had never smoked, 22.4% were past smokers, and 11.1% were current smokers.<\/p>\n

The group of current smokers trended toward having a higher risk of moderate to severe hearing loss, especially among women with greater pack-years of smoking history. (\u201cPack-years\u201d refers to the amount an individual has smoked over time, which is calculated by multiplying the number of pack of cigarettes smoked per day (20\/pack) by the number of years they had smoked that quantity.)<\/p>\n

The same was true for past smokers; however, the risk was lower for those who had quit smoking the longest ago. The drop in risk was most significant within the first 10-14 years of quitting. In other words, those who had quit smoking the longest ago had a risk of hearing loss most similar to those who were never smokers.<\/p>\n

Benefits of Quitting Smoking<\/h2>\n

There are many health benefits to quitting smoking. According to the American Cancer Society:<\/a><\/p>\n