CHAPTER V.

MAKING THE DEAF HEAR.

Too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. For it keeps one thus afflicted from acquiring more.

Of course it seems outlandish and quite beyond the pale of reason, to ask a man who can minutely describe the semi-circular canals of the ear, or bound the internal labyrinth on the north, south, east and west, to believe that by pressing with a blunt probe behind the wisdom tooth, or at the angle of the jaw on the upper surface, the hearing of the adjacent ear can be materially benefited. Or that a similar result would follow squeezing upon the joints of the ring finger, or the toe corresponding to the ring finger. And this, after every other scientifically accredited method, administered by the world’s greatest specialists, had failed. Yet such is the fact. For it is the experience of physicians, familiar with the practice and principles of zone therapy, that nine out of ten cases of otosclerosis (thickening or chronic congestion of the membranes of the ear) can be improved from 25% to 90%. And, that ringing in the ears and “ear noises,” or catarrhal deafness, can be relieved in an even larger number of cases. If there is any hearing left at all, these methods are almost certain to improve it.

General practitioners, osteopaths and dentists, who do not know so much about the geography of the ear as does the ear specialist, have no hesitation in “trying out” these methods, frequently with astonishing results.

One dentist of my acquaintance, whose knowledge of the ear is merely academic, has cured or materially improved the hearing of more than twenty of his patients. This he did by instructing them to tuck a “wad” of absorbent lint, or a handkerchief, in the space between the last tooth and the angle of the jaw, and “bite down hard” upon this substance for several minutes, repeating this procedure two or three times daily.

Some medical men cause these patients to “work” on the ring finger on the side involved, and do almost as well.

It may better serve our purposes, by way of illustration, were I to cite a few specific cases, and detail their exact manner of treatment. It may then be easier to put the teaching into practical application, following exactly the treatment as outlined.

A lady, the wife of an ear specialist, was recently brought to me for deafness. The doctor, having tried unsuccessfully every accredited method, was constrained to “see what zone therapy would do.”

For thirty years this patient had heard nothing with the right ear, and very little with the left. I stimulated, with a stiff, curved cotton-tipped probe (instrument shown in Fig. 6 may be used), the area lying between the last tooth and the angle of the jaw--carefully “covering” all the gum surfaces--sides as well as biting surfaces.

In addition, I hooked an instrument behind the soft palate (see D, Fig. 11), and “stretched” it gently forward. This, I have found, powerfully stimulates the circulation of the “ear zones,” and is most helpful--particularly in catarrhal deafness. After two treatments this patient could hear a small tuning fork one-half inch away from the right ear, and one inch from the left. After a few more treatments, her hearing so wonderfully improved that she could hear a whisper with the right ear. This after being “stone deaf” in that ear for thirty years, and after having visited “all the noted aurists in this country and abroad.”

A young soprano, member of a leading Hartford church choir, suffered a progressive loss in hearing, which finally became so pronounced as to make it almost impossible for her to “sing on the pitch,” or harmonize with either the organ or the other quartette members.

She received treatment similar to that employed on the aurist’s wife, supplementing the same by “home treatment.” This consisted in “tucking” a wad of surgeon’s gauze (it has since been discovered that a solid rubber eraser gives even better results) in the space back of the wisdom tooth, and having her bite forcibly upon it, repeating the procedure several times daily--especially immediately before singing or rehearsing. In a few weeks this girl had completely recovered her hearing, and was able to accept an engagement with a traveling concert company, a position very much more remunerative than the church position she resigned.

I have had to date possibly fifty cases of deafness of one kind or another, almost all of which have been materially helped.

One patient, a minister afflicted with otosclerosis (this supposed thickening of the membranes of the inner ear) for twenty-five years, could barely hear loud talking.

After working for five minutes upon the joints of the third (ring) finger, and to a lesser degree, upon its two neighbors, it was found that the reverend gentleman could hear a whisper twenty feet away.

As proof of this it was whispered to him “Will you kindly close the window above your head?” He rose immediately from his chair, and “obliged.”

A New York physician had a relative who had been unsuccessfully treated for deafness in one ear (the right) for the past sixteen years, by the most famous aurists in New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, and other centers of medical learning. X-Ray treatment had at one time made this case at least twenty-five per cent worse. With the left ear this patient could hear a loud voice “close up.”

Dr. Reid Kellogg volunteered to “show the Doctor something,” using this case for demonstration purposes.

The Doctor, like Barkis, being willin’, our friend took his trusty aluminum comb from his pocket and exerted pressure for five minutes with the teeth of the comb on the finger tips of the patient’s left hand, (see Fig. 12). He then used a tongue depressor on the hard palate, and on the floor of the mouth, for six or seven minutes more, and then on the tongue for an additional five.

The Doctor then stood ten feet away from his relative and talked to him in an ordinary tone of voice. The patient distinctly heard, with the left ear, every word spoken.

Our pupil then started to work on the other hand. The patient insisted that this was merely a waste of time, as the “biggest” ear specialists in Europe had failed upon this. However, the attempt was made, and within ten minutes the patient heard a clock a foot away, a watch held three inches distant from his ear, and he further was able to repeat words spoken loudly two feet away. During the experiments with his right ear, the left was tightly plugged with cotton, still further wedged in the canal by the physician’s finger. So this was a rather conclusive test.

A lady, aged forty-nine, deaf since she was six years old, came to the office of a specialist who had studied zone therapy. When the physician applied a comb to one hand, she put the other to one side of her lips--the side the doctor was on--and whispered to her friend “Crank.” Twenty minutes later, being then able to hear ordinary conversation, she whispered again. This time she said “Wizard.” A few days later she asked a friend riding with her in a street car if the bell always rang when the conductor pulled the strap. She was hearing it for the first time in her life.

One lady came to this doctor with her husband. They were both deaf. But the baby in her arms was not deaf--and most decidedly was not dumb either. In less than a fortnight’s treatment both parents could hear the baby cry every night, which was a great satisfaction to them--in one way. But they don’t know yet whether to laugh or cry about it.

Dr. Thomas Mournighan has given me the details of two remarkable cases, one a veteran of sixty-eight, who, since the Civil War, has been deaf from gun concussion. This man had never heard through the telephone, the perfection and general use of which dates since the war.

After making pressure with a probe (applicator shown in Fig. 6 may be used) on the gum margins near the angle of the jaw this gentleman was able to hear through a ’phone--the first time he had ever experienced this pleasure. That it was a pleasure was evidenced by the fact that the old soldier danced around the office in a perfect transport of glee.

The Doctor’s own father, whose condition was similar to that of the other patient, also developed a very material increase in his ability to hear.

It is but fair to say, however, that the patient’s “home treatments” must be persistent in order to maintain this improvement. If these treatments are discontinued for any appreciable length of time the condition seems to relapse. We are not yet prepared to say why this should be so.

I would emphasize also that, in ear trouble, the condition of wisdom teeth be carefully looked after. For, I am convinced, many cases of loss of hearing, or middle ear trouble, have their origin in some pathological condition of these teeth.

It may be of interest here to note also that one of the most effective ear-ache cures we possess is a spring clothespin fastened for five minutes or thereabouts on the tip of the ring finger. (See Fig. 13.) Any manipulation over this zone is effective, but hollowed-out spring clothespins and rubber bands have been particularly so.

To illustrate: During a recent medical convention in the West one of the physicians attending complained of a severe ear-ache. A physician present, well versed in zone therapy, requested permission to examine the ear-ache doctor’s fingers, alleging that by pressing intermittently on the finger nails, he could estimate the degree of blood pressure, and perhaps suggest a course of treatment which might permanently cure the ear trouble--if not caused by an abscess.

The doctor extended the hand on the side of the afflicted ear.

The zone therapy man squeezed the tip of the fourth finger, raised the finger nail, and let it settle back a dozen or more times, “to see how the circulation reacted,” as he said. After three or four minutes he said “By the way, Doctor, which ear did you say is giving you the trouble?”

The Doctor looked up in blank amazement, felt his ears, shook his head, and said, “You don’t mean to say that that darned foolishness cured my ear-ache, do you?”

It does seem silly, and yet it “works.” And anything that works is beneficent and helpful, and deserves encouragement. For deafness and ear troubles are common, and seem to be becoming more so.