# Hearing loss as a result of mold?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-as-a-result-of-mold/131836>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [October 11, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-as-a-result-of-mold/131836 "2002-10-11T16:22:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-as-a-result-of-mold/131836/1 "2002-10-11T16:22:06Z")

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In [todays column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021011.html) Unca Cecil tells us

> [@](#):
>
> According to the New York Times Magazine story, at one point a consultant walked into the Ballard home without a respirator; half an hour later he was puking his guts out, and he also suffered apparently permanent hearing loss. You’d need the soul of a tobacco lawyer to argue that such a thing was just coincidence.

The guy suffered permanent hearing loss as a result of walking through some mold? Maybe I have the soul of a tobacco lawyer, but c’mon - I find that hard to believe. [This page](http://www.health.com/health/wynks/HearingLossWYNK2000-MAL/whatyoucando.html) at [health.com](http://health.com) tells me that long-term exposure to mold can lead to hearing loss, but is there something to verify that such short-term exposure to this particular mold could have such dire consequences? Or was his stay at the house something longer than a mere walk-through? As it is, this claim smells like artistic license to me.

Thanks

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**Author:** ![Syzygy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Syzygy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syzygy)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2002, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-as-a-result-of-mold/131836/2 "2002-10-12T19:16:19Z")

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The way Cecil wrote it, he could mean that the vomiting was an immediate symptom, and that the hearing loss developed later. I could definitely see exposure to high levels of mold, especially with a subpar immune system, leading to permanent hearing loss due to infection brought on by irritation exacerbated by lack of diligence in hygiene and/or health maintenance. Of course, “hearing loss” does not equate to total deafness. I have a minor hearing loss at 4 kHz, the cause of which I am unsure. What likely happened is that the consultant had the hearing loss before entering the house, and then his loss was discovered after he became hypochondriacal and had his hearing checked. Then again, that might just be my cynicism acting up.

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**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-as-a-result-of-mold/131836/3 "2002-10-15T15:33:37Z")

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That’s what I mean about artistic license, and why I fail to understand the sentence ‘You’d need the sould of a tobacco lawyer…’ Maybe I don’t know enough about the courtroom, but this kind of claim seems really far-fetched. I’d expect that, if it were presented in the courtroom as Cecil has presented it here, any lawyer would challenge it.

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hearing-loss-as-a-result-of-mold/131836/4 "2002-10-16T12:47:13Z")

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I thought tobacco lawyers didn’t have souls…

😃