Occurrence of changes in the auditory evoked potentials of smokers: systematic review of the literature.
Dayane Stephanie Potgurski, Georgea Espindola Ribeiro, Daniela Polo Camargo da Silva
PMID 37556701WHAT IT FOUND
Normal-hearing adult smokers showed altered auditory brainstem and cortical responses compared to non-smokers.
Tests like BAEP, P300 and MMN detected these changes before standard hearing tests did.
Key findings
01Smokers with normal hearing thresholds had longer latencies and lower amplitudes in brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP).
02Smokers showed decreased amplitude and increased latency in the P300 component, indicating possible central auditory processing changes.
03All included studies used convenience samples, and one study found no significant differences in P300 parameters.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
All included studies used convenience samples, which may not represent the general population. Sample sizes in the primary studies were small (10 to 137 participants). Population characteristics varied significantly between studies (age, sex, smoking intensity). Only one study included female participants; others were all male or had unreported sex. No single study used all three types of auditory evoked potentials (BAEP, P300, MMN) on the same participants. The review did not perform a meta-analysis due to heterogeneity.
Declared interests
The paper does not report specific funding sources or author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these auditory evoked potential changes mean smoking causes clinically significant hearing loss or cognitive decline. The studies show statistical differences in neurophysiological responses in smokers with normal hearing, but the clinical impact on daily communication is not established by this review.