TALKS ON HEALTH.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 884, 4 October 1933, Page 4

TALKS ON HEALTH.

What to do for Noises in the Ears. (By A FAMILY DOCTOR.) It is not always easy to cure cases of noises in the ears, but, nevertheless, something may be done to get rid of the annoyance. In the first place, the absence of wax must be established, and this can only be done by a doctor. With the unaided eye it is impossible to see down the drum of the ear. Sometimes the removal of wax may cure, or at any rate lessen, the troublesome noises. Then something may be done by the mental effort of the patient. If he expects and listens to the noises and talks about them, he will aggravate his trouble. But if he makes up his mind to ignore the noises and do his best to forget them, he may find that they worry him less and less. A catarrh in the ear or throat can be treated by a doctor. In other cases the general health is at fault, and nothing will effect any good but a change of air. The improved tone of the general system, the cheerfulness engendered by better health, the absence of worry—all these help the patient to overcome small troubles. When the ear is definitely diseased and deafness has supervened, the advice of a doctor must immediately be sought. When in trouble, go to your doctor. Wax in the Ears. I find there is still much confusion about the subject of wax in ;he ears. Wax is natural; its collection m the ear is not a sign that the person is of dirty habits and never washes his ears. Wax may accumulate in the ears of the most cleanly. You cannot remove it yourself; it 'as quite impossible, so you had better give up trying. No inexperienced persons can do it for you; they are more likely to burst your drum than clear wax out. It is a most foolish habit to syringe the ears as a cure for deafness; if the deafness is due to catarrh, as it often is. the syringing will make it worse. Water never stays in the ears after bathing, whatever you may say. Ido not know how manv patients come to me saying that the water has stepped in the ear and won’t come out. What happens is that the water makes the wax swell, and also presses it down tight on the drum, and jt feels as thought there were a drop of water there. However, when the lump of wax is produced and shown to the patient he is generally convinced. It is time the superstition about water in the ear was killed. Use of the Syringe. Wax is of two varieties—the hard and the soft. The soft may be removed at once, but the hard should be softened with oil before the syringing. Take a teaspoon and make it hot by dipping it in hot water. Pour a few drops of sweet oil in the spoon, and then put the drops in the ear; hold the head on one side for a few minutes so that the oil soaks in. Do the same with the other ear. The best time to do it is at night, the oil softens the wax all night, and in the morning you can call at the doctor's and have the syringe used on you. Deafness in one patient may be due to two causes—wax and catarrh. The taking away of the wax will improve, the hearing, but will not cure the catarrh. If ever you do syringe your own ear be sure to avoid those glass springes with a bulb at the end. There must be a space left for the injected fluid to return. If you block up the earhole with the bulb and then squirt you will break the drum.