There is a sensible old saying, "Never put anything smaller than your
elbow into the inner part of your ear." Now, of course, you can't put
your elbow into such a tiny hole! So the old saying means, never put
anything in. The eardrum is very thin and can easily be broken. Even a
slap on the ear, or a loud sound too close to it, might crack and
spoil the drum and make one deaf.
The outside ear needs careful washing; there are so many little
creases that gather dirt and dust. The deep crease behind the ear,
too, will become sore if it is not kept clean.
Besides cleaning your ears, you must train them to listen. Some boys
and girls hear just a word or two of what is said, and then guess at
the rest and think they are listening, or else ask to have it
repeated. We should try to hear exactly what is said; and if we listen
carefully, it will soon be much easier to understand at once.
Of course, if you really cannot hear, the doctor can tell you what is
the matter, and usually can help you very much. Sometimes people
become deaf simply because the throat is swollen. Indeed, most
deafness comes from colds and catarrhs and other inflammations of the
nose and throat. These spread to the ear through a little tube that
runs up to the drum cavity from the back of the throat. Sometimes,
when you are blowing your nose, you may feel your ear go "pop"; and
that means that you have blown air up into the ear through this little
tube. Be sure to see a doctor if you don't hear well; and be sure,
too, to tell your teacher, so that she may know why it is you do not
hear what she says, and ask her to give you a seat near her, so that
you can hear.
Then, too, you should learn to notice outdoor sounds--the songs of the
birds, the noises that the animals make, the wind in the trees, and
the patter of the rain. The old Norsemen have a story that their god
Heimdall had such keen ears that he could hear the grass growing in
the meadow and the wool growing on the backs of the sheep! Your ears
can never be so keen as that; but there are many, many happy outdoor
sounds that you should listen for. They will help to make you happy,
too.
Careful listening may sometime save your life. You can hear the car or
the train coming, and you can learn to tell from which direction a
sound comes. You can learn to tell one sound from another in the midst
of many sounds. In more ways than you can think of now, this habit of
listening will protect you from danger.
The Germans have a proverb, "Hear much and say little." What does it
mean?
[Illustration: "DO YOU HEAR IT? CAN YOU SEE IT?"]