Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-04-21

cases these noises like the ringing OF bells
the buzzing Of bee, the hiss of escaping steam,
or the roar like that made by a waterfall Those
who suffer from such distressing noises while often
only slightly annoyed during the daytime imagine
the noise. ere much worse at night because the
external noises Of life during the day serve to
partially drown those heard within the head. When
the tube that leads from the to the ear drum
is free and open and in health, the waves of sound
coming from without are conveyed along the chan
mel leading down to the ear drum. and these
sound waves cause the little drum to vibrate and
repeat the sound to the inner chambers Of the
ear, where they are taken up by nerves and car
ried to the BRAIN After these sound waves have
done their duty they psss out through the tube
that leads from the middle ear to the throat and
lost and gene.
When these tubes are blocked up the sound
waves after entering the middle ear, and travelling
along the channels and passages and canals of the
inner ear. and having done their duty. finding no
opening for escape into the throat, remain I'm the
ear, and one set Of sound waves mingle with other
and entirely different sound waves, until there is
formed confused tumble that never leaves, re-
manning ever present, assuming the form of
Of the peculiar varieties Of noises that are SO
commonly heard. This is the explanation of those
ringing noises in the ears which often warn the
patient Of approaching deafness, and 20 often &C.
company deafness. This is what the doctors mean
by Tnnitus Aurium.
II you go in a deep cave and have the entrance
blocked up behind you so that there will be no
outlet for the air that Is contained In the cavern,
and then cry out aloud, you will hear the cry re-
peated from chamber to chamber. from gallery to
creased and confused a collection Of discordant
sounds and entirely different from the original cry
that you uttered, and the entire cave will echo and
re-echo and repeat and vibrate with the waves of
sound, until at last there will be heard an inds-
tinct hum, which SO permeates the imprisoned air
that 1t almost be felt by the superficial nerves
Of the body. This is the thing that occurs in
the caverns Of the when their outlet, the Eus-
tachian tube. is blocked up by disease.
Now, before any marked sense Of lost hearing is
and ringing noises in the ear. They notice they
",
where the rattle and hum Of the machinery is
taking place. than they can in the quiet Of their
own homes. The reason for this is that the busy
sounds Of life drown the internal head noises and
allow in q noisy place the external sounds to be
analysed, while in q more quiet place the head
noises make such an impression that ordinary con-
versation is heard munied and indistinct.
One Of the very first signs that the hearing is
about to fail is the presence Of ringing noises in
the head. During the day the pleasures Of q per-
son so affected are seriously interfered WITH while
during the night that follows a succession of hor
rors Is presented which in many instances render
refreshing sleep impossible. During the treatment
Of deafness the usual is to get the ringing
noises to cease. and this often happens some little
time before improvement in the hearing IL no
ticed.