PP116 - Smoking and the Effects on the Hearing and Balance Systems: The Audiologist's Role in the Smoking Epidemic

Abstract:
About 34 million US adults smoke cigarettes which leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body. It is well published that smoking has negative effects on hearing and balance. This presentation highlights the latest research on the effects of smoking on these systems. Participants will be able to discuss the tobacco epidemic, related comorbidities, and its impact on audiological health. Further, we discuss the audiologist's role in counseling patients on these harmful effects and overall wellness. The purpose of this presentation is to inform and empower audiologists to educate patients, effect change, and influence policy.

Summary:
Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide leading to disease, disability and harm in nearly every organ of the body (WHO, 2023). About 34 million US adults smoke cigarettes and every day 235 young people begin smoking (CDC, 2023). Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease, death, and disability in the United States. More than 16 million Americans live with a disease caused by smoking such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It is well published that smoking has negative effects on the hearing and balance systems.  Research has found that cigarette Smokers are at 15.1% higher odds of developing hearing loss than nonsmokers (Lee et al. 2021). In the absence of hearing loss, both current and former smokers have higher odds of experiencing tinnitus compared with non-smokers (Veile, 2017). Additionally, smoking has an isolated correlation with balance issues and quitting smoking may restore flexibility and static balance performance in older adults (Hung et al., 2023).

This presentation describes the details of the tobacco epidemic, prevalence of cigarette smoking, and associated comorbidities and outlines the latest research on the effects of smoking on the hearing and balance systems. The presentation will address the implications of smoking in relation to hearing loss, tinnitus, and the balance system. Research reviewed explores ways to manage hearing loss related to smoking, identifies populations at increased risk, explains the correlation between tinnitus and urine cotinine levels, and discusses how smoking may impact balance and independence.

Further, the presentation will define the role of the audiologist in counseling patients and addressing the tobacco epidemic. Audiologists have a responsibility to talk to patients about the harmful effects of smoking on the hearing and balance systems. The purpose of this presentation is to share this information with audiologists so that they might gain new knowledge, talking points, and attitudes and apply them to their efforts to educate their patients, prevent youth from beginning to use tobacco, promote tobacco cessation, and effect change, and influence policy for healthier communities. 

Brief Summary of Clinical Takeaways:
The clinical takeaways are that documentation of current or past smoking habits is a crucial component of the case history, baseline and serial audiograms are important counseling tools for monitoring change over time and may encourage smoking cessation, and counseling should stress the impacts of smoking on quality of life.

Assumptions
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