Nerve Deafness. A person is not really deaf until the hearing nerve loses its function. This is particularly important in the over fifty age group since there is distinct loss of hearing (especially for higher tones) with each decade of life. Thus, like the eye, the ear has a gradual decline in hearing power with age. A simple test of nerve deafness is to hold a buzzing object,
Fig. 16. Inside-ear machinery gives us our sense of balance. Like a glass of water, it contains fluid which remains stationary when we turn or tilt. The position of the fluid allows recognition of body position even in darkness. When faulty, this mechanism may be a source of annoying dizziness and a spinning sensation.
such as a tuning fork, or kitchen knife tightly against the skull or between the teeth. When the fork or knife is plucked and caused to vibrate, hearing the buzzing means that the nerve is intact. If it is not heard, improving the hearing may be very difficult or impossible since this indicates that the nerve itself is not working. A hearing aid may possibly be of help for partial nerve deafness, but not for total nerve deafness.
Inner Ear Infection; Labyrinthitis; Dizziness. The innermost ear, a fluid filled compartment within the bone, containing the balancing mechanism may become irritated or infected to produce a labyrinthitis. Because the enclosed fluid within this area acts much like water in a glass, motion of the head creates motion of the fluid. In diseased or irritated labyrinths, such motion is exaggerated in its impulse to the brain, so that we feel a spinning unsteady or moving sensation to our surroundings. When labyrinthitis becomes severe, balancing becomes of such great effort, that it is not possible to stand erect, or even get out of bed. Effective treatment of this difficulty can be prescribed only by the physician, who alone can identify this uncomfortable inner ear disease.