There is much more to the ear than appears on the outside of the head. That part, easily visible, if unusually prominent gives a lot of concern. In addition to the external ear, the apparatus for hearing includes the middle ear and the internal ear.
The external ear includes the portion that is on the outside and the small canal which runs down as far as the eardrum. It is a collection of skin and other tissue such as cartilage and muscle. In most human being the muscles are merely remnants of the large muscles possessed by animals, so that few people are able to move their ears with any degree of celerity or satisfaction.
Plastic Surgery For Lop Ears
There are really few conditions affecting the external ear that are disturbing. Sometimes large portions of the ear may be absent at birth. Occasionally the ears project in an extremely unsightly manner. A these extraordinary appearances are controlled nowadays by the use of plastic surgery. An expert is able to fasten the ear back if it project exceedingly, to rebuild an ear out of other tissue if portions are missing and to modify the shape of the ear if it is of extraordinary shape.
Many mothers feel that the ear became a lop ear because the chill lay on his ear with the ear crumpled when he was small or because he wore his hat pressed down on the ears. There is no evidence that these factors are really of any importance. The fault is one of anatomical development. Manipulation of and bandaging the ears to hold then against the head will not correct the condition.
“Tin Ears”
One of the most common forms of injury to the external ear is the development of what the pugilist calls a "tin ear." Repeated pounding on the ear results in the pouring out of blood into the tissues of the ear and surrounding areas. At first such swellings are bluish-red; they feel to the touch like dough. In the worst cases surgeons open the tissue and remove the clot of blood to prevent permanent thickening and swelling. They also apply special bandages to mold the ear and hold it in shape while repair is taking place.
Infection In Ears
Cases are on record in which living insects have entered the ear. They died and their bodies remained, gradually becoming surrounded by hardened wax, so that eventually the external canal was blocked and hearing lost entirely. Outside of the loss of hearing, no damage is likely to result. More damage comes from attempts to remove material from the ear than ' from the entrance of the material itself. It is not advisable for anyone to try to remove a foreign body from the outer ear if it cannot be washed out, unless he has had special training in this type of work.
Removing Foreign Objects
Several instruments have been developed for removing foreign objects. A bean or piece of chalk has been removed by the use of a probe with some adhesive material on the end. This becomes adherent to the bean or piece of chalk, which is then gradually withdrawn. Such performances are, however, best left to the experts.
A pimple or boil or any other infection in the tissue lining the external ear canal will cause intense pain, inflammation, swelling, and some fever, and should have prompt medical attention.
How To Avoid Ear Injuries
Far better than the attempt to treat such conditions when they develop is the application of simple laws of hygiene that tend to prevent infections in the ear. Increased bathing and swimming have multiplied the number of cases of infection in the ear arising from that source. Children should not be permitted to swim more than fifteen or twenty minute at a time. If they tend to have trouble with the ears they should not be permitted to dive. The child who complains of difficulties in hearing or of fullness in the head after swimming should give up the sport. This is nature's way of warning against trouble.
The vast majority of infections of the ear are secondary to colds in the head and influenza. About 10 per cent of children with scarlet fever and measles develop infections of the ear. About 5 per cent of those with diphtheria develop infections of the ear. Other cases develop after mumps, typhoid fever, whooping cough, and similar infections.
Prompt care of children with various infectious diseases will determine the presence of infection early, and immediate application of proper treatment can prevent extension of the infection into the mastoid or inner ear.
Hygiene Of The Ear
An Irish doctor said that there are two kinds of deafness - one due to wax in the ear, which can be cured by washing it out, and the other not due to wax. Most people nowadays know enough about personal hygiene to keep their ears clean. Boils and pimples still occur, and there are still cases in which the removal of hardened wax is necessary. Thecerumen, or wax in the ear, when it becomes hardened is most easily removed by the use of the ear syringe filled with slightly warm water. Harm can be done by needless or too frequent syringing. The syringe should be sterilized by boiling before using, and water should be previously boiled and used warm but not hot.
The person whose ear is to be syringed should sit in a good light, a towel should be put around the neck and tucked inside the clothing so as to prevent soiling it, a pan should be held at the edge of the ear so that the fluid which runs in will run into the basin and not down the patient's neck. The ear is pulled slightly upward and backward to straighten out the passage. With the ear held in this position, the nozzle of the syringe, which has been filled and has all the air expelled, is placed just inside the outer opening of the ear. The water is then permitted to flow along the back wall slowly and without too great pressure, so as to permit return of the excess flow of water as the water goes in.
Special instruments are usually needed for removing foreign objects. A probe with adhesive at the end may attach itself to a foreign object which can then be pulled out. Usually experts have the instruments and can do this performance easily.
Middle Ear Infection, Or Otitis Media
Infection of the interior of the ear after a sore throat is not nearly so frequent as such infections used to be. The specific action against staphylococci, pneumococci, streptococci, and other germs that infect noses and throats wrought by the antibiotic drugs and sulfonamides has enormously reduced such complications. However, neglect of a sore throat or a virulent infection may occasionally be followed by spread of the germs to the middle ear. One or both ears may be infected. The condition usually begins with a pain in the ear and a high fever. The pain is continuous, but may be irregular, and is usually worse at night. When the , doctor looks at the eardrum it is seen to be bulging. If the drum is not opened the pressure may cause it to burst. Then a thin watery discharge will come out, often changing to thick creamy pus. When the eardrum is cut or bursts the pain stops immediately and usually the temperature falls.
Blow The Nose Properly
Often the middle ear is infected because a child has not learned how to blow the nose properly. The worst technique is to hold both nostrils tightly when blowing, since this forces the infected material from back of the nose into the middle ear. The proper technique requires that only one nostril be held and that blowing be gentle. Preferably, the handkerchief or disposable tissue should be held quite loosely over the opening of the nostrils.
Middle-ear infection may lead to some degree of deafness and, rarely, to permanent loss of hearing. Following an infection the child should be taken to a specialist-an otorhinolaryngologist-who will test the loss of hearing and do everything possible to stop the progress of infection and restore action to the damaged tissues of the ear.
Mastoiditis used to be frequent after infection of the ear, but now the total number of cases of mastoiditis has been greatly reduced by the antibiotic drugs. Pain and tenderness in the region behind the ear are
the first symptoms of inflammation of the mastoid. The skin may be swollen so that the external ear seems to be pushed away from the head. Early treatment of infected ears will usually prevent this complication. Surgical treatment of mastoiditis involves an operation in which the infected area is opened and the infected material cleaned out. Unless controlled, a secondary inflammation of the coverings of the brain meningitis - is possible.
