The Washington times., 1917-02-23
POPULAR MEDICINE
BY DR.. HIRSHBERG
Intelligent Observation of Rules
of Hygiene Will De-
crease Illness.
BY DIR. LEONARD X. HIRsHBERG.


Ringing" in the ears and BURN
ing" of the ears are two entirely diff
ferent matters. The lobe OF the ear,
that is to say the outer flap, may
flush and blush and burn to its
hearts content with little or no wor-
ry on your part. 1t is very much 9TH
erwise, il you have head noises" or
''hear bells ringing" steamboats,
whistling" or steam escaping" when
there are no such events in reality.
When the lobe or outside append
age OF the ear burns" or 'blushes"
and the superstitiously inclined from
habit say some one is speaking of
me-" there is a simple explanation of
the physiological mechanism. Either
the veins and arterioles of the skin
and the cartilage of the affected car
have relaxed and dilated, or there
has been a general expansion of the
blood channels of the skin. You are
more apt to recognize a blush or
burning" of the ears than elsewhere,
for the following very plain reason:
The skin and cartilage of the audi
tory appendages are SO tightly and
tensely interviewer that any aug
mented blood flow to them will be
felt distinctly as heat, tingling or
itching. 1t is on this account, too,
that the ear tips are more easily
nipped by Jack Frost than almost
any other area of the skin.
Subjective and Objective Noises.
But ringing" in the ears and other
head noises" are .spots of another
leopard" They are often inextricably
interviewer with the sense of heating.
While they may not be associated
with ear aches, Assesses or palpable
injury to the ear, they are so con-
nected more often than not.
One of the characteristic descrip-
tions OF these subjective sounds
/ seems to be their apparent let-up by
day, and their exaggerations at night
Sometimes this is explained upon the
theory that objective sounds-that is
| to say, real noises such as rattling
wagon wheels, car bells, automobile
horns, the banging of doors and the
other actual doings of the wakeful
workaday world-mask the internal
subjective noises, whereas at night
when all the air q solemn stiffness
holds" these counter irritants are
gone, and the focus of attention can
not be withdrawn from your own
| internal troubles.
Improve Your Bodily Health.
Be all this as it may, the produc'
ton OF head noises, has been
traced to disturbance of the
balance of the air and the
equilibrium of the tissues in the
internal ear. You will understand
this better If you will picture in your
minds eye the conch or periwinklt
shell, which is a replice of the inter
nal ear. II you put a sea shell to
your ear you hear low or high
pitched blowing or ringing noise
This has been Variously explained
by physicists and meteorologists a
due TO the movements of the air out
side the opening OF the shell, which
in turn affect that on the inside.
Similarly, ringing noises in thu
ear" and all such sounds are explain
ed as due to leaks, openings, ere
vices and other defects of the WALL
and entrances into the third or conci
shell chamber of the human ear. These
may or may not be present will
deafness. OFTEN they do not accom-
pany deafness, because the condi'
lions which cause the noises do mo-
necessarily interfere enough with
the passage OF air movements as Il
diminish your auditory powers.
Obviously, high blood pressure, al
we'll as other general states of thu
health which have nothing directly
TO do with the ears, may be concern
ed with the ringing" in your ears
ANY treatment or relief must there
fore be directed toward the rest o.
the human fabric as well as the ears
(copy't, 1917, by Newspaper Feature Service