HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXIV, Issue 39, 14 January 1944, Page 4

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

CARE OF THE EARS. (By tho Department of Health.) Almost as much to be prized as your eyesight is your sense of hearing, yet cars are not treated with the same respect a« tho eyes. The delicate parts of the ear are so guarded by nature that they are protected by firm bones in'the head, and because of the nearness of the ear to tho brain, ear trouble must not be neglected. Often an injury to the ear is followed by a long interval before the full damage is apparent, and many people develop deafness, partial or otherwise, simply because of neglect of the cars. Defects in hearing are sometimes due lo impacted wax in the outer ear, or to running ears, or to an infection in the middle ear. Many of these troubles can be corrected. Incidentally, wax is nature's defence against foreign substances, and it is a dangerous, practice to put anything in the ears or remove wax, except that portion which can bo seen. r Cp soften stubborn wax try putting a drop of warm olive oil in the ear overnight. Measles, diphtheria, pneumonia, or intluenza often leave the hearing defective, and it is important to know this as soon as possible so that proper treatment may be applied. Another thing, pulling and boxing ears is emphatically a habit to be avoided And when you are swimming or bathing, take care of your ears. If you happen to fall or dive with one ear flat against the water, the impact may have serious results. Plugs of cotton wool offer protection in the water.