The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-06-02

only ana lnen only through
his column.
medical problems. Some Of these
are plain for all to see and con-
sider-the cripples, the blind, the
nervous wrecks among the vet
Grams Of combat. Numerically they
would hardly justify my estimate
of third Of all postwar problems
being medical.
But there is another, less OBJ
vious and much more numerous,
group Of medical liabilities who
will come out Of the war. They
are in both combat and civilian
groups. They may not realize for
long time what the war has done
to them. But still subtly and per-
haps to them unaccountably it will
have changed their whole lives.
AS an example of this is a re-
port | have before me by Lieut..
81. g. j. C. Howard, NJ. D. on
tests of hearing made on men who
have seen combat service. 1t is
by no means a cheerful account.
The conclusion is that postwar
America has an excellent chance
of being in part hard-of hearing
America, because of acoustic
trauma. 1t applies to those who
have gone to work in war industry
as well as to those in the armed
forces. And it thus hits particu-
larly the young adult between the
ages of Is and 35 who in the past
has been particularly free Of au-
ditory difficulties.
Damage of Noise
Damage to hearing from the as
saults Of noise has in the past
been identified by the medical pro-
fession with certain trades-such
as boiler makers, riveters, blasters
and those make up only a frac-
tional part of the population.
The damage to hearing in this
group is mainly in the higher fire.
quencies, starting above 5000,
which means deafness for high
tones, but in the course Of time
this spreads fanwise on the chart
until it reaches the level of con-
versational ranges.
World War / had little effect
on the hearing Of the members of
the armed forces. 1t was short
and comparatively not so very
noisy. The English, French and
German troops showed a good
deal more loss than ours. Thu.
war has increased the pace Of
mechanical warfare and with it
noise. Besides, altitude flying adds
its burden as well as the baromet-
rlc pressure Of submarine exist
ence.
Protective Devices
Studies in the hearing acuity Of
the personnel Of airplane and sub
marine services show that the
amount Of damage depends on the
ability Of the individuals hearing
apparatus to stand pressure, the
amount Of exposure, and, best
lesson Of all, the amount Of rest
between periods Of duty. The use
Of protective devices is also 0
factor.
Trap shooters ear" has been
so designated by sportsmen IA
miliar with the situation. The trap
shooter is hard Of hearing in the
ear that is next to the gun. The
same phenomenon is found in ma
chine gunners and those using the
ordinary army rife. The big gun
crews get it in both ears. In the
news reels you see the gunners at
the discharge Of a big gun holding
their mouths open: this is plain
common sense and experience as
well as the result of instruction
in protection. 1t equalizes the
pressure on the middle ear through
the Eustachian tube.
The prolonged use of quinine
for those in malarial countries
also does the hearing apparatus
no good.
The onset Of diminished hearing
due to these causes is gradual and
often unrealized by the individual.
Lieut.. Howard found on examin-
ing men picked by chance, not be-
cause they complained Of loss of
hearing, that at first the acuity
was dimmed for frequencies above
1000 (coin-click) and seldom got
so bad that it was diminished for
the low tones Whispered voice..
The radio, movie and television
world may well take these findings
into account. The high tones
screams and the like-will be lost
on much Of the postwar popula-
ton.
garet McUmber. %. The angula