CARE OF THE BODY’S INDIVIDUAL PARTS: INFECTIONS OF THE EAR
Middle ear infections do not usually come from outside, as some people believe, but from the nose and throat through the Eustachian tube. That is why inflamed tonsils and adenoids, a severe cold, sore throat, or sinusitis are usually accompanied by a sense of pressure or pain in the ears.
If the middle ear becomes seriously infected, the hearing device may be threatened. The infection may spread, causing rupture and destruction to the eardrum. It may continue into the mastoid cells (causing the condition known as mastoiditis) and, unless checked there, may enter the nearby brain and its covering. Children are very susceptible to middle ear infections. Since the development of antibiotics, mastoiditis can be controlled.
Infections of the outer ear, involving the lining of the auditory canal, are common. They may be caused by fungi or by germs, resulting in boils of the canal. Eczema frequently affects this area. If these exterior infections are ignored, they may travel inwards and involve the eardrum and the middle ear.
Infections that injure the hearing can also be caused by foreign objects, such as beads or pencil erasers, which very young children sometimes push into the ear canal. Such objects should be kept away from them. Adults can cause similar trouble by cleaning their ears with hairpins, matchsticks, or other long, pointed objects. Follow this rule for cleaning the ear canal: what you cannot remove with your little finger (which has previously been thoroughly cleaned with soap and water) should be removed by a doctor or nurse at an ear clinic.
Some people believe that a chronic running ear cannot be cured. This is completely false. It is possible to cure almost every case of chronically infected ears. Sometimes it may be necessary to go to an ear specialist or to a hospital many miles away, but it is always worthwhile to clear up a condition that may ruin hearing.
Swimming rarely causes any trouble to the ears unless there is an infection in the nose, sinuses, or throat. Learning how to breathe in through the mouth and out through the nose when you are swimming will prevent this. However, anyone with a perforated eardrum must have his doctor’s permission before going swimming.
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