The Dickinson press., 1889-04-20
CONCERNING THE EARS.
COMMON PRACTICES WHICH ARE
SURE TO INJURE THEM.
A Partial Description of the Organ-Dan-
gers from Picking the Ears-Favorite
Remedies Forbidden-Those Who Under
stand Should he Consulted.

Remedies Forbidden-Those Who Under
stand Should he Consulted.
The ears are so often subject to disease, es-
pecially in early life, that people should
know more of them than they now generally
do. A little. but not much, can bo said about
the care they need. The real apparatus of
hearing is fortunately so we'll constructed
and so well protected i'll its situation, it does
very WE'LL as rule, under the ''let alone
treatment" There is much, however, to be
said about what ought not to be done to the
ears, for habits which tend to oinjure them arc
exceedingly common. Again, people should
be better Informed about the diseases of these
important organs, not only for the reason
that many of them may DO prevented, but
because, as general thing, they are improp-
erly treated. Considering these facts, it is
assumed that u discussion of tho subject will
be of interest.
Anatomists have divided tho ear into three
parts. y description of two is comparatively
easy, but of the other is too difficult to under.
take. The drum of the car is the dividing
line between the external and tho so called
middle ear The drum lies about an inch and
quarter within the passage Beyond the
drum is the actual hearing apparatus. Tho
outcrmost part of thecXternul ear is, as every
one of course knows, trumpet shaped, so us
to receive and collect sounds from all quar-
ters. The middle ear lying back of the drum,
is n small cavity, which communicates with
deep cavcrlls, which arc also part of the
hearing apparatus.
THE ECSTACnlAN TUBE.
Tho middle ear also communicates with tho
upper part of the throat-properly tho pha-
rynx-by narrow passage called tho Eusta-
chian tube. Hence it will be seen that but
for the drum of the ear there would bo one
continuous passage from the outer ear to tho
throat Patients who have suffered pcrfora.
ton of the drum will very readily appreciate
this fact, for in blowing tho nose the air
escapes through tho eur with II whistling
sound The Eustachian tubc plays several
important parts. Were it not for that tho
drum, owing TO the absence of air ON one side
would not vihratc, and tho hearing power
while not necessarily wholly destroyed, would
he very much impaired. This general idea
of the ear is about the best ono can acquire
without considerable study and tho aid of
charts AT any ratio it is quito sufficient for
the purpose of this discussion
Although the drum of the car lies an inch
and Il quarter within tho passage, it is very
often injured, and, i'll fact, destroyed by the
wanton carelessncss in picking tho cars An
instrument quite often used for that purpose
is tho hairpin. Never put anything into
your ears but your elbow, is sound advice
and if universally followed there would be
decidedly fewer cases Of deafness. In picking
tho ears possible injury to the drum Is by no
means the only danger to be apprchendcd
Tho lining of the eur passage is quito scns-
tive to irritation. 1t requires but very little
rubbing or scratching to inllume it, and even
if that irritation be limited to the outermost
part of the passage, as it is where only tho
finger is used, there is decided tendency for
the trouble caused to extend up to and in
volve tho drum Many people must have
noticed that after even gently picking tho
ear there soon was felt an uncomfortable
sense of fullness deep within giving evidence
of an extension of the irritation Picking
the ear, even if limited to tho outer part of
it, also gives rise to small assesses, which
many can testify are exceedingly painful
and slow to disappear.
There is naturally always n small amount
of WAX in the ears. Ieople generally think
that they should remove that from time to
time, and for tho purpose variety of ear
spoons have been constructed 1t is true that
t!lclc are DECitSlDIltll c;lScS WIcCe wax
euinulutc, to such an extent it threatens To
fill up the passage. But that condition of
things is scarcely ever noted in ahcalthy ear.
Nature has made such provisions that the
wax is properly disposed of if it is not med.
died with. The glands which secrcte it are
on the upper wall of the passage, which has
just sufficient pitch" to let it roll out. If
one knows this fact he need not try to aid
81,
he will most probably defeat her plans by
pushing it far within, whcre the floor of the
canal slopes in the opposite direction. That
done, the wax is liable to remain there until
picked out or in some other way removed It
is generally the rule that where ono is care
full to keep the ear free of wax, its secretion
is very greatly increased in consequence of
tho irritation set up.
DANGEROUS PRACTICES.
After what has been said it will be seen
that all interference with tho outer passage
of the ear is fraught with danger, and even
in using the towel after bathing the face, the
parts about the ear should be touched with
great gentlcness. And here it is well to say
that many people incuutiorsly make them
selves deaf by using n towel or handkerchief,
rolled in the shape of wedge, to wipe out tho
most always overcome 10y rubbing near the
passage just in front of the ear Where the
itching is quite constant, diseased condition
of the lining of the passage will be found,
and to effect cure the services of physician
will be needed. The itching may be tempo
rarly relieved with warm, weak saleratus
water, dropped into the passage
1t is common practice in such cases and
many other. to drop into the ear sweet oil or
glycerine Their use can scarcely ever be
justified, and certainly in some conditions of
the ear it is absolutely forbidden as harmful
Not only is itching when severe an evidence
of trouble within the ear, but all such scns;l.
tions, as of fullness, of burning of pain, also
indicate that there is some disease going on
therein, and, Of course, a physician should be
consulted For these symptoms and for some
others the syringe is frequently brought into
service Very generally that instrument is a
small glass affair which is well nigh valucless
for the purpose to which it isput. To syringe
out the ears is a very nice operation, and ono
can scarcely do it properly without being in
structed by a physician.
Where there is any deposit in the ear, as of
hardened wax, ETC., considerable quantity
of water must be thrown into it in order to
do any good. Again, the stream must be
properly directed or more harm than good
will result; instead of being dislodged and
washed out, the offending substance to be re-
moved will be driven farther in and become
packed against the drum. Then there are
other things to be considered in this conncc.
ton. In using syringe, if a stream of water
is thrown against the drum with too great
force, injury is sure to result. In that way
it is possible to rupture the drum, but if that
is not done inflammation will very likely be
the consequence. Again, water too hot or
too cold may set up an inflammation There
fore, all things considered, the rule is fixed
that Swinging the ear should never be done
unless physician has advised it and given
ample instructions Us to all its details.-Bos-
ton Herald.
A Triumph in Cookery.