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Bad News for People Who Love Coffee and Loud Music

According to recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, caffeine can impair the recovery of noise-induced hearing loss.
Coffee Time

Is there any better antidote to a big, loud night out than sitting alone in your silent kitchen and sipping on coffee?

As the previous night's events slowly trickle back into consciousness—no matter how sweet or depraved—the coffee is always there to deliver a reliable dose of the world's most widely used psychoactive substance. But this time-honored recovery method and form of meditation might actually be doing more harm than good for the legions of partygoers who adhere to it.

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Strange as it seems, coffee could be having a significant impact on people's hearing. According to recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, caffeine can impair the recovery of noise-induced hearing loss. Obviously, this has implications beyond the realm of parties and concerts.

READ MORE: This Is How We All Got Addicted to Caffeine

"Since both caffeine intake and noise related hearing loss are so common in our society, these findings could have a significant impact on the general population, especially for those who ingest high doses of caffeine regularly," according to researchers.

The researchers in this study used an animal model and exposed two groups to a noise level of 110 dB (the same as a "loud rock concert") for one hour. One group received a daily dose of caffeine, while the other was caffeine-free. Though both groups had suffered hearing loss the day after being exposed to the loud noise, only the caffeine-free group managed to make a full recovery eight days later. The caffeinated group, on the other hand, continued to suffer from hearing impairment, meaning that the caffeine appeared to be the culprit.

"Our research confirmed that exposure to loud auditory stimuli coupled with daily consumption of 25mg/kg of caffeine had a clear negative impact on hearing recovery," lead author Faisal Zawawi said in a press release. While the research team conceded that further trials would need to be conducted using human subjects in order to clarify the implications for you and your heavy-metal-loving buddies, they said results were "promising." In other words, it's bad news for coffee drinkers.

So, next time you find yourself chugging black coffees after a night of partying, know that it could be silencing not just the voices inside your head, but the ones outside of it as well.