A new research says that smokers are at a high risk of suffering hearing impairment as compared to non-smokers.

Even though hearing loss is not traditionally associated with smoking, a recent study involving 50,000 participants has revealed that smoking increases risk of loss in hearing. According to Mirror, the research was completed over a span of eight years analyzing the participants’ checkups, lifestyles and audio tests.

Lead author of the study Dr. Huanhuan Hu says, “With a large sample size, long follow-up period, and objective assessment of hearing loss, our study provides strong evidence that smoking is an independent risk factor of hearing loss.”

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From the data acquired from annual health checks of the participants, the team of researchers observed how their ability to detect high and low pitch sounds changed. As per Independent, the results showed that smokers were likely to develop high-frequency hearing loss by 60% while, lower frequency sounds would be suffered by 20% smokers.

The study also suggested that the more cigarettes a participant smoked each day, the higher the risk became of developing hearing loss.

Apart from heart disease and cancer, Dr. Hu confirms that hearing loss can be another side-effect of smoking. “These results provide strong evidence to support that smoking is a casual factor for hearing loss and emphasize the need for tobacco control to prevent or delay the development of hearing loss.”

The study was published in the medical journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.