The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-04
TALKS WITH DOCTORS.
A Conversation About Ears and Aural Defects
-Sea-Sickness Due to 0tolithic Vibrations.

tnat ueaIaeSS genSraily mas It's origin III tao
mouth, and not in the ears inquired a Journal
reporter of Dr. Charles e. Wright; ''and that it
IS owing to crowded and displaced teeth
II don't think so; it certainly does not agree
with my observation. / think majority OF the
eases Of deafness come by way of the nose,
through catarrh. About one-third of the per-
sons you meet have defective hearing Ones
two ears seldom hear alike, for the reason that a
person has prevailing ear as he has a prevailing
eye or foot 1t is given as a reason for lost per-
sons waking in a circle that one leg prevails
particularly in the size and shape of the auricle
which affords some wonderful cartilaginous Gu
rioslties. Did you ever look into an carr
The reporter said he had not "I'll show you
one" said the Doctor, taking q small rejecting
cylinder, and inserting into the ear of patient.
''That little chain of bones there in the middle
has three queer Names the hammer, anvil and
stirrup, named according to their peculiar
shapes. You see that spot of ligkt2 1t is by
that we Judge the character of the ear. The
middle ear, or cavity of the tympanum, is a
space filed with air. which is received from the
pharynx through the Eustachan tube Treat
ment of ear troubles is mostly through the nose
and mouth. I suppose earaehe is about the Sc
verest ache that humanity is called upon to en-
cure. Babies suffer from earache more frequent
~ than is supposed. The little ones will try to
take the breast, and the motion of swallowing
viii hurt the ear, and cause them to cry, and
then they are dosed for colo. If the nurse
would make an inspection of the ear in the case
of the child she doses with paragoric, she would
see red spot, indicating inflammation.
Much of the trouble among children
comes with and from catarrhal fever. Sore
which deafness is result Boys frequently ac-
quire deafness from going swimming and get
ting cold water in the ears Water, to be adj
united TO the ear. should always be heated to the
temperature of the body.
Persons have come to supposing they had
brain trouble, when the difficulty was in their
ears Some people cannot walk straight at
night owing to a defective ear, and at the same
lime they may not know that they have the
iniirmity or, knowing of it, don't know the
cause of it. Vertigo and dizziness are often
attributed to brain disorders. when they are
nothing more serious than aural alterations.
or relieved sore eyes is now held only by the
uost ignorant There is no affinity between the
external ear and the eye.
do you believe" inquired the reporter,
there is anything in telling character by the
ears2"
That persons of large ears generous, and
those of small ears are stingy? Certainly not,
though some of my best-paying patrons have
rather large ears. The ear changes in shape as
we advance in years. The auricle in old persons
drops forward and thus often causes the audito-
~ canal to take different shape. Boys fre-
0uently alter the shape of their ears, causing
them to stand further from the head, or TO lop,
by drawing their caps downsoyer them One of
the latest theories in regard to .sea-sckness is
that it proceeds from the ear In the internal
ear where the nerves disturbed there are
little bones called otoliths. Now it is supposed
by some that the constant disturbance of these
otoliths, and their vibrations in striking against
the nerves causes sea sickness, and the
correctness of the theory is partially assured by
the fact that the sickness is assuaged by lying
down, the otoliths being relieved from the
disasseeable vibrations. Sickness from swing
M is accounted for in the same way. 1t also
accounts for the fact that we have remedies
for sea-sickness. 1t is also SAID that deaf
enjoy almost complete immunity from seasick-
ness.
Some children have a perfect mania for
sticking things into their ears. A child was
here from Brightwood the other day and l found
q stone in one of its ears. / then examined the
other ear and found a grain of wheat. Bugs in
the cart have taken out enough to stock q
very respectable chronological cabinet. A fly
is an exceedingly lively little stranger to have in
the ear. How to get them out! Oh
smother them with olive oil or warm
water Nothing should ever go into the ear that
is cold. Physicians frequently do not treat the
simple diseases of the ear that come to them in
general practice properly. Chloroform, lauda-
num- turpentine and such remedies should not
be put into the ear. Warm water is the best
Sv,fa
substances AS | said before, cold water should
never be used in the ear. People are badly in
formed even as to the simplest matters concern
ing the ear. They wonder what that adhesive
yellow secretion called wax is for. 1t performs
several very necessary duties, not the least of
which is to entangle small insects, particles of
dust and other foreign bodies and prevent their
further passage into the auditory canal.
There's nothing like warm water for the
ears. / have had people come from
Illinois, Iowa. and one gentleman even from Col
srado to have wads of wax taken out of their
cars. They were deaf and when the wax was
removed they heard. OF course they considered
their cures marvellous. 1t is from such as these
that quacks get certificates of wonderful cures
have had cases in which, upon examination,
have found cotton in the ears that had been
placed there years before and had been forgotten
The hearing of persons afflicted with deafness
is worse in damp weather, at night, while eating
and during excitement, than at other times. They
are helped in conversation by watching the lips
of the talker. They cannot understand man
as well as woman, not only account of the
pitch of the female voice. but because of the con-
cealment by the beard of the motion of the lips
do not think much Of the audiphone 1t is
cumbersome, bulky and made of material easily
broken. 1t is especially brittle in cold weather
and cannot be regulated to suit the temperature
Persons with false teeth cannot use it with sat
isfaction, as it takes true teeth to convey the
sound from the aHdiphone up through the bones
of the head into the ear By the way, quiuine
has been badly abused in connection with deaf
ness for the reason that many persons have
made the mistake of attributing their deafness
to quinine when the infrmity was due to the
disease for which the drug was taken. The in
ternal ear or labyrynth is the essential part of
the organ of hearing. and consists of a
series of cavities lying imbedded in
the hardest part of the temporal bone,
and deafness is sometimes caused by a bone
growth about the ear in this temporal bone.
That, of course. is a very serious thing As to