The Effects of Tobacco : Your Ears are not Immune

Studies have shown that the number of smokers in Canada has been declining steadily. This is very positive; as we all know, smoking can be extremely harmful to smokers and the people around them. The harm isn’t limited to humans, either—it turns out smoking can even damage hearing aids’ microphones.

With every cigarette, smokers release over 7,000 chemicals into their systems, more than 70 of which are carcinogens. Naturally, this comes with many side effects. Studies show that all of our senses are affected by smoking and second-hand smoke. The sense of hearing is unfortunately not spared. Nicotine and carbon monoxide are two major contributors to tobacco-related hearing loss. Inhaling these substances causes vasoconstriction (constriction of the blood vessels), which reduces the supply of oxygen to the blood. In turn, the blood fails to provide enough oxygen to the body’s organs and cells. This includes inner ear cells called cilia.

Nicotine is also responsible for many other harmful effects, such as interference with auditory nerve neurotransmitters, which inform the brain about the nature of the sounds we hear.

In addition to harming smokers and the people around them, tobacco smoke can impact many other parts of a person’s life. For example, animals and hearing aids may be affected. Hearing aids? Yes, you read that right! Even though there are no complete studies on the subject, many hearing aid manufacturers and some audioprosthetists agree that second-hand smoke seems to affect hearing aids’ microphones. The particles released by cigarettes tend to make the microphone’s membrane less sensitive to low sounds. However, it’s hard to tell whether this is caused by a buildup of substances on the microphone membrane or the hardening of the membrane itself.

Patients whose hearing aids’ microphones are affected by smoke can therefore encounter hearing difficulties in their everyday lives. Hearing aid users who are exposed to smoke often report that they have trouble understanding low sounds or speech from a distance, while loud sounds are heard just fine. The hearing aid user doesn’t have to be a smoker, either—people can still have these difficulties if they’re frequently exposed to second-hand smoke.
If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate to consult an audioprosthetist. The best advice is to keep cigarettes far away from you… and your hearing aids!