Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-06-02
THE TELEPHONE EAR.
rrs THE LEFT ONE, AND NAY PRODUCE
ANEW DISEASE.
A Chat with Two New York Specialist
Some Valuable Suggestions on How
to Care for Your Ears.
rYor tho Dispatch-copyright 1883 By Bachsii~
n Col
You have telephone ear.

For tho Dispatch-copyright 1883 By bachsli~
4 Col
You have telephone ear.
You may not know it, butyou have al
the same.
1t is the left ear, for il is on record
that only a very small percentage OF
men or women use the right ear at the
telephone. As a matter of fact the teie-
phone has suddenly come into proml-
hence as medical proposition, and I'M
less the scientists arc mistaken the bulk
OF men and women who use the telo-
phone within q few years may ex-
pect TO find themselves rather hard
OF hearing in the left ear. This IS be-
cause when using the telephone every
muscle and nerve OF the ear 10 strained
TO catch the faintest sound from the
person speaking at the other end, and in
some of the ear hospitals to-day patients
are being treated for deafness in the lett
ear caused by the use of the telephone.
DR.. Oliver w. Moore, the eminent eye
and car specialist, was asked the other
day if he had heard of any cases OF deaf
ness from the telephone.
CAUSES OF DEAFNESS.
at is rather difficult to state exact
w." he replied. 81 have seen where the
repeated sound OF an instrument or the
repetition Of any sound has caused deaf
ness. Telegraph. operators are in dan
ger of iniuring their sense OF hearing.
Boiler. makers often suffer from deaf
ness. In the construction OF boilers
it is necessary for one man to
be inside OF the boiler and the
other outside. and the incesssnt noise
caused by the riveting Of the boiler
always causes either deafness or an aifec-
ton of the ear. AS 10 the telephone it
no doubt has the same effect 1t Is
natural and reasonable to suppose that
person listening for sound, and not
knowing the exact moment when 1t will
come, may inJure the membrane % the
ear, and in tine this might affect the
hearing power.
This brought up il general way tho
question OF deafness and its cure. !
drew the attention of Dr. Moore to the
fact that one Of the most frequent ad-
vertisements seen in the daily news
papers is that deafness can be cured. L
asked him If it were true 2" and he le-
piled:
IT CAN BE CURED.
"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. II is a pOpu-
lar fallacy, however, that oil ear
disease should be lot alone and the pa
tient will get better; especially is this
true of running ears. NO greater mis-
take could be made than this. In cases
where the auditory nerve has been de-
stroyed. or chrome Inflammation OF the
drum head has been developed, deafness
is incurable. D.
is deafness Oh the increase 2"
There are more people treated to-
day than ever before, for the reason that
he popular idea OF letting things slide
is giving way before the onward march
of an educated public. and the advances
in medical science have made it possible
for us to treat disease more fully and to
achieve greater results than formerly.
HEARING IMPAIRED BY BATHING.
"People who dive or who indulge
during the hot summer weather in surf
bathing are ept to inlure their hearing,
the danger not being 50 much the taking
in OF water through the canal Of the ear
as through the mouth and nose. Peo-
pie very often Involuntary take water
INTO the mouth while bathing. which Is
transmitted from the mouth into the
ear, producing yiruleut Inflammation,
SO much 30 that death has been
known to occur As the result OF tins
ear trouble. Care should also be taken
against catching cod by the proper
regulation of clothing. The feet and
neck should aIways be well protected
against damp, especially people who are
already subject to catarrhal affections 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 a well-es'ablished fact. Those
suffering from nervous deafness hear
better IN quiet places The gen
erally.accepted explanation of the for
mer phenomenon by the medical profess
sion is that the intense noise has "A slim
ulating effect upon the drum OF the ear,
causinq it to contract or tighten up, and
thus convey the sound vibrations to the
auditory nerve.