The evening times., 1898-10-25
Causes of Deafness.

As regards the causes of deafness, there are sew
eral-injury catauh effects Of certain dru.s psral-
ysis, wax, etc, etc.-but the two principal causes
are injury and Catarh. II is readily understood how
injury may interfere with hearing. BY referring
10 cut we see how bullet, or in fact any
missile or instrument passing through this or
gan, cutting, lacerating or bruising any all of
these delicate structures, must OF necessity pro-
duce disastrous results A blow, which either
cracks the skull through this locality or 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 thickening OF the mu-
cous membrane which lines this entire cavity
throughout. Earache is an acute congestion Of
the middle ear; If not checked IL Is apt to rup-
ture the drum and produce q discharge, which
If neglected becomes chronic, destroys the deli
cate tissues, drum and bones. The result is I'M
paired hearing. However, the great common
cause OF deafness is an extended catarrh Of the
nose and throat into the Eustachian tube This
tube connects the middle ear with the uppeTInoSt
part Of throat and has its opening just over the
soft palate. The Office OF this tube is to allow
a free passage of air into the middle ear, there
by producing equal air pressure 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
ternal 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 the parts are displaced, lnterfered
with OF infaIned, much depending upon the ex-
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 il is for a diseased condition Of
the membrane of the or throat to extend in
to the tube 1t not only extends into the tube
but up 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 thickened, stopping up
the tube and keeping out the air The drum IS
~. 1acS thau
Small sounds are not heard, there are ringing
noises in the This is the condition of at
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 1t safely be stated that
90 per cent of all cases of deafness are directly
due to closure OF the Eustachian tube and indi-
rectly TO disease OF 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 are
in use The most popular is that OF Catherl-
zation, which consists of forcing hollow, bent
metal instrument through the nose and into the
opening OF the tube Remedies of all kinds are
injected through this-llquids, vapors, and gases.
The treatment is harsh one and produces
usually much pain and distress. In fact quite
a percentage of cases absolutely refuse to submit
TO the ordeal a second time.
II was while seeking milder methods than those
employed that the oowden treatment was ofigl-
mated and is used in these Offices today in the
same manner as when first discovered, nothing
having been found TO surpass it or to accomplish
the same wonderful percentage Of cures. The
method of treatment consists of thorough ap-
plication of remedy which. results prove, has a
specific action upon the membrane lining the
tube. There is nothing harsh. Patients eau
toned to use the remedy with gentleness. Yet in
spite of its simplicity, the cures brought about
are little short of miraculous
Time of cure: Two weeks 4 Every
thing depends upon how far the disease has ex-
tended up the tube How long it has existed