Passive Smoking Damages Hearing Abilities in Teens

While it is known that passive smoking is dangerous to the lungs, a new report published in the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery said that it severely affects the hearing among teenagers.

The study was conducted by researchers from the New York University School of Medicine who observed over 1,500 US teenagers between 12 to 19 years of age and found that over 40 percent of the 800 teens exposed to second hand smoke experienced hearing loss compared to just 25 percent of the remaining who were not exposed.

The researchers said that very few of those who suffered hearing loss knew of the problem since we do not notice mild hearing loss. The researchers said that this type of hearing loss is usually seen among elderly or those who are suffering from congenital deafness.

"We need to evaluate how we deal with smoking in public places and at home, as well as how often and when we screen children for hearing loss", lead researcher Professor Anil Lalwani said.

Source: Medindia