The times., 1898-10-26
Causes of Deafness.

As regards the causes Of deafness, there are sey-
eral-inu Y, oa;arIh cftc Of certain dtuss. paral-
ysis, wax. etc, eic-but the two principal causes
injury and catar h. II isEe dily uud rstood how
injury may interfere with hearing. By referring
to cut we can see how bullet, or in fact any
missile or instrument passing through this or
gan, cutting. lace-ating or hruising any or all of
these delicate structures, must Of necessity pro-
duce disastrous results a blow, which either
cracks the skull through this locality pro-
duces pressure by internal bleeding, will usually
cause deafness, more or less marked as the in
jury is severe.
But the vast majority of cases are caused by
catarrhal inflammation or thickeuing of the mu-
cous membrane which lines this entire cavity
throughout. Earache is an acute congestion Of
the middle ear; II not checked II Is apt TO rup-
ture the drum and produce q discharge, which
If neglected becomes chronic, destroys the deli
cate tissues. drum and bone. The result is i'm
paired hearing. However, the great common
caIrse of deafness is an extended Catarrh Of the
nose and throat into the Eust4chiaa tube This
tube connects the middle with the uppermost
part OF throat and has its opening just over the
soft palate The office OF this tuhe is TO allow
a free passage of air into the middle ear, there
by producing equal air pressure on both sides of
the drum Any interference with this pressure
throws the drum out of position and causes i'm
paired hearing When the tube is closed an eN-
tcrnal examination OF the ear shows depression
of the drum. which in turn crowds the chain Of
small bones The degree Of deafness is usually in
proportion as the parts displaced, interfered
with or inaamed, much depending upon the OK
tent OF the thickened condition Of the membrane
lining the tube.
By referring to the cut again it is seen at a
glance how easy it is for diseased condition OF
the membrane OF the nose or throat to extend in
| 10 the tube II not only extends into the tube.
but nm its entire length into the middle ear over
| the inside of the drum. In such cases-and they
are frequent-the entire lining OF this most deli
| cate Of organs is red and thickcned, stopping up
| the tube and keeping out the air. The drum IS
| 81; Nd less sensitive than
| Small sounds are not heard there are ringing
noises in the This is the condition Of al
| fairs in deafness.
There are all sorts and conditions OF deafness.
| Some have suddenly become deaf. Others very
| gradually Some can hear better at times. Al
| most all cases have noises in head at some time
| or other etc. etc. Ii can safely be stated that
| 90 per cent of all cases of deafness directly
| due to closure Of the Eustachian tube and indi
| rectly TO disease of nose and throat.
| As to the cure, the object is TO open the tube
| To accomplish this the medical profession has de
| voted much study and time. Many methods ar
| In use The most popular one is that OF catheri
| zation which consists of forcing hollow, ben
| metal instrument through the nose and into thi
opening of the tube. Remedies OF all kinds art
injected through this-lquidS, vapors' and gases
The treatment is a harsh one and produce
usually much pain and distress. In fact quit
a percentage of cases absolutely refuse to submit
to the ordeal second time.
1t was while seeking milder methods than thos
| employed that the Cowden treatment was origi
mated and is used in these Offices today in thu
same manner as when first discovered, nothin!
having been found to surpass it or to accomplish
the same wonderful percentage OF cures. TIL
| method of treatment consists of thorough ap
plication of remedy which, results prove, has
specific action upon the membrane lining til
tube There is nothing harsh. Patients are eau
toned to use the remedy with gentleness. Yet il
spite of its simplicity, the CURES brought abou
are little short OF miraculous.
Time of cure: Two weeks to year. Every
thing depends upon how far the disease has eS
tended up the tube How long it has existed