Recently reported that adolescents who experience hearing loss may be due to being overweight or obese. But a recent study says hearing loss in adolescents not only because of her weight, but also her mother's smoking habits during pregnancy.
Although it is said that the link between the two is relatively low, but researchers cautioned limited if any hearing loss may affect the ability of learning and social interaction of a child. As quoted by Reuters on Friday (06/21/2013).
In this study, Weitzman and her colleagues analyzed data from a group of 12-15 year-olds who were asked to undergo a hearing test in 2005-2006 as part of a national health survey. Hearing tests performed on both ears to determine whether participants' difficulty distinguishing some sounds with different tone or not.
Parents were also asked participants whether they smoked during pregnancy or not. Fortunately, only 16 percent of those whose mothers smoked while containing known participants.
But that's 16 percent of participants who had mild hearing loss risk. Even one of the six participants are known to have a hearing loss in one ear, while the participants whose mothers did not smoke, the ratio of 1:14.
"Moreover, many adolescents with hearing loss do not realize that they have it, but the fact that this condition can make them irritable (aggressive) or problems in school," said Dr. Michael Weitzman, a child health researcher from New York University School of Medicine, U.S., who led the study.
Even Weitzman predicts adolescents particular, mild hearing loss condition could have been worse as they get older.
To that end, Weitzman agreed if parents who smoke during pregnancy initiate or consider that their children get a hearing test when they hit the age of 12-15 years. Who knows from there it is known whether the child actually have a hearing loss or not so they can get early treatment efforts.
This research has been published in the JAMA journal Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery.