The sky over downtown Seoul is thick with fine dust on Dec. 10, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — People living in areas with high levels of fine dust and other air pollutants are exposed to a higher risk of hearing disorders, a study showed Tuesday.
A research team from Gachon University Gil Medical Center collected hearing test results for 15,051 people who participated in the 2010-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, as well as the air pollutant levels in areas where they lived in the three years prior, to analyze the connection between exposure to air pollutants and hearing loss.
The study showed that exposure to air pollutants over an extended period heightens the risk of hearing loss (hearing threshold of over 25 decibels).
People who were exposed to PM10 — particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter — fine dust levels for three years prior to taking the hearing test were 20 percent more likely to suffer from hearing loss than others, as were those who were exposed to excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfurous acid gas.
The study results are based on placing other factors that may cause hearing loss, such as exposure to noise, disease and habitual behavior, as control variables.
Exposure to air pollutants increases the level of oxidation stress in the body, restricting the blood flow in the ear’s cochlea, which kills the cells inside the inner ear to cause hearing loss, the research team explained.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
