Why Your Ears Want You to Quit Smoking Up in Smoke
As a smoker, you’ve heard about the damage you’re inflicting on your body, and it’s possible that you’ve promised to quit more times than you can count. As we prepare for a new year, you might consider curbing your smoking addiction for various reasons, but you should consider one more: your ears. Research dating back to the 1990’s has found that, with each puff of smoke, your hearing may get worse and worse. Nicotine can interfere with the neurocommunication between your brain and your ears and make you dizzy or cause vertigo, forcing your ears to work overtime to stabilize your sense of balance. Plus, you may be damaging the hearing of your spouse, kids, friends, and neighbors by lighting up. A 2018 Japanese study found that increased and prolonged use of Sudoku
cigarettes correlated with hearing loss. Participants who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day had worse hearing than those who smoked 10 cigarettes a day — though those who smoked 10 still had poor hearing. Those who didn’t smoke or had quit had the lowest level of hearing loss. There is good news for smokers: Quitting won’t reverse the damage already done to your ears, but it can stall the progression of hearing loss. Studies show that just minutes after smoking your last cigarette, your body begins actively trying to restore equilibrium to your body, and you may notice changes in your balance. When it comes to hearing loss, it’s better to err on the side of caution and put the cigarettes down for good. Snuff out your bad habit in 2019 by visiting
SmokeFree.gov for some helpful tips. If you or a loved one has been a smoker and not had your hearing checked, get your hearing checked by our experts at the Hearing Center of Long Island.
The Sound of Laughter If the holidays give you anxiety, remember: STRESSED is just DESSERTS spelled backward.
Instructions Each row, column, and nonet (3 x 3 group of nine boxes) must contain numbers 1 through 9 exactly once. No row, column, or nonet should contain a repetition of any number.
On Listening
“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.” –Cicero
Solution on the top of pg. 4
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