IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN SUDDEN HEA RING-LOSS AND TOBACCO SMOKING

Background: The etiology of sudden hearing loss is not yet known. The most common mechanism of sudden hearing loss would appear to be impair ed cochlear blood circulation. Tobacco smoking causes changes in hemos tasis and raises the body's need for oxygen because of carbon monoxide , one component of the smoke which blocks a part of the hemoglobin. Pa tients and Methods: 297 patients (76 smokers, 99 former smokers, and 1 22 non smokers) who were treated because of sudden hearing loss in the hospital in the last 5 years were queried about their smoking habits. We asked the patients to complete a questionnaire in order to get mor e reliable answers. We explored the kind of tobacco, the number of cig arettes or cigars per day, the age at onset of smoking, the number and rate of recurrence of sudden hearing loss, the result of the treatmen t of a former sudden hearing loss (if there was one), the characterist ics of tinnitus, the possibility of stopping smoking, and the signific ance of tobacco smoking as reflected in health policy. Results: Tobacc o smoking does not increase the overall risk of sudden hearing loss. T he incidence of smokers in the population of the region and the incide nce of smokers among patients with sudden hearing loss is equal. But t he average age of the smoking patients is significantly lower than the average age of non smelters and former smokers. Smokers have a higher rate of recurrence of a sudden hearing loss. The result of treatment of former sudden hearing loss is worse in smoking patients. Conclusion : There is no obvious relation between the risk of sudden hearing loss and tobacco smoking.