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.