Smoking is linked to hearing loss in teens, according to a new study from Yale University.

Researchers tested 67 smokers ages 13 to 18 years old and found that they had problems in focusing and interpreting sounds and spoken language, especially when there were distractions in the area. Scientists already know that tobacco smoke affects the amount of the brain's "white matter," the region responded for communication.

This study appears in New Scientist Magazine.

Worried that your teen is engaging in smoking and other risky behaviors? Pine Ridge Academy offers adolescent behavior modification programs to help teens break bad habits.

Labels: communication, focusing, smoking