Smoking and obesity could be linked to hearing loss, according to a recent scientific study.
Either condition could limit blood flow to the ear, with the extent of damage clearly related to the level of obesity or length of smoking habit.
Unsurprisingly the University of Antwerp led study also confirmed that exposure to high levels of noise remained the biggest risk to hearing.
The study looked at a sample of more than 4,000 men and women aged between 53 and 67. All the participants were given a thorough hearing test and then questioned about their lifestyle.
Lead researcher Dr Erik Fransen said: "The hearing loss is proportional to how much you smoke and your body mass index (BMI).
"It starts getting worse once you have smoked regularly for more than one year."
"Once the damage is done, it's done. It does not repair."
The scientists suggest that smoking and obesity lead to a depletion of blood flow to the ear. This results in a lack of oxygen to the tissues and a build up of harmful waste products.
Amanda Sandford, from the pressure group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said that the results, published in the Journal of the Association for Research into Otolaryngology, should serve as a warning particularly to younger smokers.
She said: "There are so many young people who think that they can give up in middle age and escape some of the other diseases associated with smoking.
"In this case, some of the damage may already have been done."
The study was part-funded by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID).
Either condition could limit blood flow to the ear, with the extent of damage clearly related to the level of obesity or length of smoking habit.
Unsurprisingly the University of Antwerp led study also confirmed that exposure to high levels of noise remained the biggest risk to hearing.
The study looked at a sample of more than 4,000 men and women aged between 53 and 67. All the participants were given a thorough hearing test and then questioned about their lifestyle.
Lead researcher Dr Erik Fransen said: "The hearing loss is proportional to how much you smoke and your body mass index (BMI).
"It starts getting worse once you have smoked regularly for more than one year."
"Once the damage is done, it's done. It does not repair."
The scientists suggest that smoking and obesity lead to a depletion of blood flow to the ear. This results in a lack of oxygen to the tissues and a build up of harmful waste products.
Amanda Sandford, from the pressure group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said that the results, published in the Journal of the Association for Research into Otolaryngology, should serve as a warning particularly to younger smokers.
She said: "There are so many young people who think that they can give up in middle age and escape some of the other diseases associated with smoking.
"In this case, some of the damage may already have been done."
The study was part-funded by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID).
