Study of Effect of Smoking on Auditory Acuity

Background: The relationship between smoking and hearing loss has been debated. Smoking appears to have an effect on auditory acuity and the proposed mechanisms are the direct oxidative damage on cochlea caused by toxic substances inhaled with the cigarette smoke or to the acceleration of the atherosclerotic process in the cochlear artery.

Objectives: To record the auditory thresholds of age matched male smokers and non-smokers of age group 20-40 yrs, using pure tone audiometer and compare the auditory thresholds between the groups.

Method: Age matched male 100 smokers and 100 non-smokers were subjected to pure tone audiometric assessment. The smoking history in terms of pack-years was also noted. The data was statistically analyzed.

Results: Smokers group were significantly hearing impaired than the non-smokers group. The hearing impairment was noted at all frequencies tested. Higher frequencies were more affected than the lower frequencies. The auditory thresholds of smokers had significant positive correlation with smoking history, indicating that auditory thresholds rise as the number of pack-years increase.

Conclusion: Smoking causes hearing impairment. The higher frequencies are more affected. The auditory thresholds rise as the number of pack-years increase.