Smoking and obesity may lead to hearing loss, but booze helps

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by Rob Peters | June 10, 2008 at 01:19 pm
3604 views | 6 Recommendations | 33 comments

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Glengoyne

Glengoyne

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How's this for a mixed message: don't smoke, but if you do, drinking helps.

Your hearing might be negatively affected by smoking and a high body mass index, a new study suggests, though drinking alcohol may stave off hearing loss.

A large European study involving 4,083 participants in seven countries found that smoking significantly increased high-frequency hearing loss. The more years a person smoked, the higher the risk of hearing loss, the study found.

As well, the higher a body mass index (BMI) a person had, the more pronounced their hearing loss was across the frequency range tested.

(The BMI is a widely used measure of body fat. Researchers use it to track body-weight patterns at a population level and identify groups at risk. It is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres.)

On the other hand, moderate alcohol consumption (which consisted of at least one drink a week of wine, beer or hard liquor) appeared to protect participants against hearing loss.

"The results suggests that a healthy lifestyle can protect against age-related hearing impairment," write the authors.

Source: cbc.ca

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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (33)

recommend This comment thread is now closed
0
yugoroyd
yugoroyd

at 02:04 on June 12th, 2008

It's the beer which a friend poured.

yugoroyd has contributed a photo to this story.

0
[The Hunter]
[The Hunter]

at 04:45 on June 12th, 2008

This is news to me!

No complaints though ;)

0
Josh Dionne
Josh Dionne

at 06:33 on June 12th, 2008

"Went out today, to get some Kaluha to make White Russians. Girlfriend saw these little bottles, like 50mL each.

She grabbed a bunch, and actually told me she wanted to stick them in my lightbox, and take some photos.

Of course, I did all the picture-taking, and used my new nifty fifty. Also tried to use the overly-powerful SB-22 in A1/A2 mode. It works well with my D50! At 1/16 power (lowest D50 allows), it was a decent flash.

But having to be like 4 feet away didn't help much for these shots. Especially with the FoV of a 75mm."

Josh Dionne has contributed a photo to this story.

dmuth
dmuth
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 07:03 on June 12th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.

0
CAR Julia
CAR Julia

at 08:16 on June 12th, 2008

I have been living in Russia in the past three and half years. From the very beginning, I noticed that alcohol abuse is common issue in this country. In this photo, I used myself as model. My intension was to send out message that alcohol doesn’t do you any good.

CAR Julia has contributed a photo to this story.

0
floralgal
floralgal

at 08:38 on June 12th, 2008

I am delighted to contribute my photo to this great News Release. This photo was taken with a Nikon D80 mounted on a Tripod. I poured the drink with one hand while pushing a shutter release cable with the other hand.

floralgal has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Eyebee
Eyebee

at 09:49 on June 12th, 2008

This is a photograph taken into my own refrigerator. I don't have any hearing loss that I am aware of , but I only drink moderately, and not on a daily basis.

0
Kusmeroglu
Kusmeroglu

at 10:07 on June 12th, 2008

Taken in the woods by a river in Florida on a camping trip.

Kusmeroglu has contributed a photo to this story.

0
KaplanEyeCode® - Roberto Kaplan
KaplanEyeCode® - Roberto Kaplan

at 10:32 on June 12th, 2008

Bottles like these are appealing to my eye. To be conscious is to enjoy a drink and know when the point is reached of being excessive.

KaplanEyeCode® - Roberto Kaplan has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Sweetness! Photography
Sweetness! Photography

at 10:56 on June 12th, 2008

This photograph was taken at The Bone in Dallas, Texas. :-)

Sweetness! Photography has contributed a photo to this story.

0
nmalaguti
nmalaguti

at 11:30 on June 12th, 2008

A semesters worth of booze

nmalaguti has contributed a photo to this story.

0
arcaneaddiction
arcaneaddiction

at 11:36 on June 12th, 2008

living in the state of Oregon, everybody loves to drink it seems. some socially, some do it college frat party house style. my 5 bottles of egg nog (as seen in a picture i provided), i was preparing to celebrate the 2008 new year on my own and with friends. it turned out to help me in making new friends, approach studio recording applications, write new music, and calm my brain down so i could think about my future a bit.

even though alcoholism runs in my family somewhere, i've found a place where i don't even need to rely on alcohol at times. i have the power to consume nothing or everything when i choose. this i think is a reason why maybe my hearing as an adult isn't gone yet, if such a story and study is true.

arcaneaddiction has contributed a photo to this story.

0
aljen01
aljen01

at 14:28 on June 12th, 2008

I actually took this photo for a photography course that I am taking.

aljen01 has contributed a photo to this story.

0
ZeroXR
ZeroXR

at 14:42 on June 12th, 2008

Some alcoholic spirits in moderation can act as aperitifs to quell something that may have been upsetting to the stomach. Jagermeister, amarettos, whiskeys and scotches are probably the best known ones.

ZeroXR has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Bene XVI
Bene XVI

at 15:02 on June 12th, 2008

Alcohol is commonly accepted through many societies, but altough moderate consumption will not do a great deal of damage to your body, a high consumption at very short intervals can damage your brain and have negative effects on your body. Things like getting very drunk, losing control of your actions or getting fat, because alcohol makes you want to eat more fat saturated food.

Do drink, but drink responsible!

As you see, one shot to many may overflow the glass!

Bene XVI has contributed a photo to this story.

0
JeffHuang
JeffHuang

at 15:49 on June 12th, 2008

smoking and boozing. doesnt sound like a good combination. it might help the hearing, but i think ull be causing other health issues too. lol

0
silentlybroken
silentlybroken

at 16:20 on June 12th, 2008

I've been deaf since birth, so when I was alerted to this story it immediately caught my attention. It's a very interesting thing to hear about, and I'll definitely be doing more research, as the remainder of my hearing seems to be failing..

0
bryan_2107
bryan_2107

at 16:33 on June 12th, 2008

This news is new for me, and I feel good to inform people about these issues.

bryan_2107 has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Juan Pablo Pincheira
Juan Pablo Pincheira

at 16:43 on June 12th, 2008

Nice article. It's good to know it, I'll try to drink more often then, hehe.

Greets.

0
socalgrip
socalgrip

at 18:10 on June 12th, 2008

Getting ready to enjoy so great fried chicken at Murphy's in Palm Springs. The day was warm,the beer was cold. Went down smooth as my taste buds swarmed.

socalgrip has contributed a photo to this story.

0
groa
groa

at 21:38 on June 12th, 2008

cheers

ale2000
ale2000
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 22:13 on June 12th, 2008

I'll work the coming weekend for my hearing health... ;)

0
apocalyptic_brain_eater
apocalyptic_brain_eater

at 02:19 on June 13th, 2008

Basically, it's just a shot of a bottle of rum I had hanging out in my house. I had a flash light on the table as the power was out, and it was glowing so beautifully through the bottle, I decided to capture it with my camera.

apocalyptic_brain_eater has contributed a photo to this story.

0
skippyjon
skippyjon

at 03:11 on June 13th, 2008

It was raining and there was a nice reflection of the light on the wet balcony floor. I took out the alcohol bottles and took a few pictures.

skippyjon has contributed a photo to this story.

jump4jay
jump4jay
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 04:25 on June 13th, 2008

Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.

0
Colin Bell
Colin Bell

at 06:12 on June 13th, 2008

The Wirral Bells has contributed a photo to this story.

0
rexrollarxj3p
rexrollarxj3p

at 07:40 on June 13th, 2008



rexrollarxj3p has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Tina K
Tina K

at 09:46 on June 13th, 2008

I found these frosty bottles in the garden of an old house that is used for cultural arrangements.

Tina K has contributed a photo to this story.

0
superlele
superlele

at 10:24 on June 13th, 2008


superlele has contributed a photo to this story.

0
GigiBona
GigiBona

at 10:51 on June 13th, 2008

Hi, I'm glad you decided to publish my photo, actually it was taken as a joke, but I like it being shown here, 'cause I agree with the containt of the article

GigiBona has contributed a photo to this story.

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