The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-09
THE TELEPHONE EAR
MAY BECOME PROMINENT as A
NEW DISEASE.

lists on the Matter, and Also Some
Valuable Suggestions on How to
Care for Your Ears and Prevent
Deafness-Don't Fool with Quacks.
CCopwi0hhiSsSA
NEW YORK, June I.-You have a teIe-
phone ear.
You may not know it, but you have all
the same
1t is the left air, for it is on record that
only a very small percentage of men or
women use the right ear at the telephone.
As matter of fact the telephone has sud
denly come into prominence as a medical
proposition, and unless the scientists are
mistaken the bulk of men and women who
use the telephone, within a few years may
expect to find themselves rather hard of
hearing in tho left ear. This is because
when using the telephone every muscle and
nerve of the ear is strained TO catch the
taintest sound from the person speaking at
the other end, and in some of the ear hos
pltals to-day patients are being treated for
deafness In the left ear caused by the use
of the telephone. Dr. Oliver W. Moore,
the eminent eye and ear specialist, was
asked the other day if he had heard of
any cases of deafness from the telephone.
1T is rather difficult to state exactly, -
he replied. II have seen where the repeated
sound of an instrument, or the repetition
of any sound has caused deafness Tele-
graph operators are in danger of injuring
their sense of hearing. Boiler-makers often
suffer from deaf ess. In the construction
of boilers it is necessary for one man to be
inside of the boiler and the other outside,
and the lncesSant noise caused by the riyet
ting of the boiler always causes either deaf
ness or an affection of the ear. AS to the
telephone it no doubt has the same effect.
1t is natural and reasonable to suppose that
person listening for a sound, and not know
ing the exact moment when it will come
may injure the membrane of the ear, and
in time this may effect the hearing power"
This brought up in a general way the
question of deafness and its cure | drew
the attention of Dr. Moore to the fact that
one of the most frequent advertisements
seen in the daily newspaper is that deafness
can be cured l asked HIM Elf it were true!"
and no replied:
"The most common cause Of deafness is
catarrh. The next most common is a disease
which is the result of scarlet fever or
measles These two diseases give rise to a
great deal of deafness. Deafness can be
cured. 1t is a popular fallacy, however,
that all ear-diseases should be let alone and
the patient will get better, especially is this
true of running ears No greater mistake
can be made than this. In cases where the
auditory nerve has been destroyed, or
chronic Inflammation of the drum-head has
been developed deafness is incurable."
us deafness on the increase"
There are more people treated to-day
than ever before for the reason that the
popular idea Of letting things slide is Civ
ing wav before the onward march Of an
educated public and the advances in medi-
cal science have made it possible for us to
treat diseases more fully, ard to achieve
greater results than formerly.
People who dive or who indulge during
the hot Summer weather in surf bathing are
apt to injure the hearing, the danger not
being so much the taking in of water
through the canal of the ear as through
the mouth and nose. People very often in
voluntarily take water into the mouth
while bat hing, which is transmitted from
the mouth into the ear producing virulent
inflammation, so much SO that d sath has been
known to occur as the result of this ear
trouble. Care should also be taken against
catching cold, by the proper regulation of
clothing. The feet and neck should always
be we'll protected against damp, especially
people who are already subject to catarrhal
affectio is, or children with running ears
A curious fact about catarrhal deafness is
that those suffering from it hear better in a
noise. In crowd they will hear the finest
whisper, whilst in a room they cannot hear
ordinary sounds. This is well-established
fact Those suffering from nervous deaf
ness hear better in quiet places. The gem
orally accepted explanation of the former
| phenomenon by the medical profession is
| that the intense noise has a stimulating
effect upon the drum of the ear, causing it
to contract or tighten up, and thus convey
| the sound vibration to the auditory nerve.
"Another affection of the ear is accumu-
| lation Of wax secreted by the glands. Many
people have the bad habit of picking the
! ears with picks, hairpins, and other things,
which is very injurious and dangerous.
| Nothing smaller tnan ones elbow should
ever be put in the ear; even physicians
should never attempt to extract foreign
| substances, without first examining the ear
and observing them with the proper instru
ments. The only proper way Of cleaning
the ear is by means Of a syringe and water.
| If you do not accomplish your object with
this, thea consult an aurist."
| ''Are any of these instruments that are
sold as aids to bearing of any use?'
| 1.-THE air drums which are sold and ad
| vertised 50 extensively to-day are for the
most part fraud. Tney are nothing more
| than piece of rubber about three-eights of
an inch in diameter. They are of no value
whatever, except in cases where there il
perforation, and in such cases only very
rarely, one in 500 being benefited
| CHARLES H. BROWN