Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-10-01
DO Telephones Hurt the Hearing ,


Physicians all over the country have
begun TO speculate upon the effect Of
the telephone upon tho ear and the
sense of hearing Now that the tcle-
phone has become an important part of
n business Office. capable, in fact, Of
performing what amounts to messenger,
II not clerical work, II Is almost In
constant use. What effect then the use
of the instrument has upon the ear Is
but n natural as well as an extremely
interesting question.
The physicians of Sringfcld have
been particularly interested in this sub
ject, and the Republican OF that city has
devoted some attention TO il. II appears
from interviews with these physicians
that several cases have como up where
in the ear of the patient is diseased
from varying causes, and IL Is found
that using the telephone aggravates the
trouble. Where Inflammation has set in,
the ear Is rendered useless, nature pro-
viding that any muscle when inilamed
shall cease to act. II is obvious in such
cases that the telephone may simply
prolong and increase tho inflammation,
thereby indirectly damaging the hear
ing. The old case, cited in so many
doctors books of the boiler makers
who are made deaf by their own pound
ing, can now be put I'm new shape, for
even sound ear might easily be ruined
by constantly receiving the vcxatious
cracking and boiling of the telephone.
This oXcgcsis may be technically
phrased as nervous exhaustion from u
continuous shock. Furthermore, the
analogy between the mechanism of the
eye and that of the ear may be cited TO
show that the straining of the ear to
catch the faint or indistinct words of the
telephone may damage the hearing, rs
straining the eye impairs vision.
But most of the evidence gathered to
support these theories tend TO combat
them. Thus il appears that many peo-
pie who have telephones in their
houses or places of business, and
use them frequently, find their hear
ing bcttercd. The best testimony,
however, comes from the central Office.
Al each switchboard sits an operator,
generally girl, who from morning till
night haggies with unreasonable sub
scrbcrs and patiently goes through the
everlasting formula till her head fairly
rings with ''hallo' and "all right and
'go ahead" She gets small pay for
her trying work, surely not 70 sufficient
compensation for loss of hearing. But
her testimony is that her hearing is con-
stantly improving When she began
this work she Numbered sadly: now the
ear is drilled to catch the faintcst sound,
and her sense of hearing is remarkably
acute. II must be noticed that the reg
ularity of this schooling of the ear is
largely responsible for the good result.
IL an operator were to take a switch
board only one day in the week and do
all the work required on that day, the
practice would doubtless be detrimental,
because il would be exhaustive to both
the muscular and the nervous makeup
of the ear. The systematic use of the
telephone seems to develop the hearing
above its normal acuteness, but does not
make il technically abnormal, One
benefit from using the telephone is evil
dent to both subscribers and central
Office operators, that of cultivating the
attention, n process which is reckoned
rs the third or intellectual method of
developing the sense of hearing. A
good share of the difficulty which peo-
! pie find in working a telephone comes
not from any defect in the machine, nor
from deficient hearing, but from inabil-
| ity TO fix the attention on what is heard.
This trouble readily disappears by prac-
tice in listening closely to what is said
over the wire. Indeed, the attention
may be trained TO an abnormal develop
mcnt rs in the case of the head opera
tor at the central Office, who has been in
the tclephoning business for four years;
she has so accustomed herself TO fix her
attention on the machine before her,
and to abstract her attention from her
surroundings, that when she is in her
home she often fails to hear when she is
addressed by members of the family.
Now that the subject has been opened
for discussion, il will undoubtedly be in
dulged in by the prominent physicians
as well rs by the medical journals of the
country .-Ncw Hacen Register.