Second-Hand Smoke Linked to Hearing Loss in Children

A new study links second-hand smoke to hearing loss in children.

Some 1,500 teenagers were given hearing tests in the study. They were also tested for cotinine, which is produced when nicotine is metabolized, so it's a good marker for exposure to tobacco smoke.

"What we found was that the higher the level of cotinine in their blood - and thus the higher the level of exposure to second-hand smoke - there was greater prevalence of the hearing loss," says Dr. Anil Lalwani of New York University Medical Center, who conducted the study.