SCIENCE.-SUPPLEMENT. 



FRIDAY. APRIL 8, 1887. 



EFFECTS OF EXPLOSIONS ON THE EAR^ 



That the ear may be injured by the violence of 

 aerial impact, or concussive force, propagated by 

 the explosion of gunpowder, has been known 

 ever since the introduction of explosives in mili- 

 tary warfare. Owing, however, to the obscurity of 

 traumatic lesions of the drum of tlie ear, or of its 

 deeper parts, and the limited means of observation 

 at the command of the military surgeon in the 

 field, it has been more difficult to study these in- 

 juries than most other wounds. Such was my 

 own experience, at least ; and reference to the 

 literature of the subject shows that the opportuni- 

 ties of writers on military surgery were probably 

 no greater in this respect. It is a fact, moreover, 

 that from the suffering occasioned by other and 

 more painful wounds simultaneously received, to- 

 gether with the bewilderment caused by nervous 

 shock, aural injuries are liable to be entirely over- 

 looked. Indeed, in some of the cases about to be 

 described, there were serious wounds of the ear, 

 of which the wounded men themselves had been 

 unconscious up to the time of my examination, 

 several weeks after the accident. It may be stated 

 here, on the contrary, that after artillery engage- 

 ments it is not unusual for participants to fancy 

 that deafness, due to other causes wholly, has 

 been produced by the loud sounds of great guns ; 

 and, since the war of the rebellion, applicants for 

 pensions not infrequently present their cases with 

 the statement that aural disability has originated 

 in this manner. 



While the writer was recently seeking informa- 

 tion from persons having had experience in the 

 field or on shipboard, especially among army and 

 navy officers, an opportunity quite unexpectedly 

 presented itself to investigate thoroughly the 

 effects of concussive force on the ears of a number 

 of men in the midst of whom a twelve-inch mor- 

 tar-shell, weighing five hundred and eighty-five 

 pounds, and containing a bursting charge of 

 twenty-seven pounds of rifle-powder, was acci- 

 dentally exploded. This took place at the U. S. 

 ordnance proving-ground, Sandy Hook, Oct. 21, 

 1886, at 3.30 p.m. 



The scene of the catastrophe, as shown in fig. 2, 



1 Condensed from the Medical record of Feto. 19, 1887, 

 with, illustrations reproduced by permission of Wm. Wood 

 & Co. 



was reproduced from a photographic view taken 

 on the spot by my friend Mr, Walter C. Tucker- 

 man. The men were taken in about the same 

 positions they occupied at the time of the accident. 

 The places of three of them — namely, Lieutenant 

 Medcalfe and Private King, killed, and Corporal 

 Goodno, absent in hospital — were occupied by 

 other persons. 



The diagram of the twelve-inch mortar, gun- 

 carriage, and platform (fig. 1), where the firing 

 was taking place, was kindly designed by Captain 

 Whipple. The facings of the men are designated by 

 arrows, and the direction and force of the wind at 

 the time are also shown. The distance of the men 

 from the shell which exploded was as given be- 

 low : — 



A. Sergeant Ahbott, position 8 feet from the shell. 



B. Private King, " at the base of the shell. 

 C Lieutenant Medcalfe," at the side of the shell. 



D. Corporal Clark, " 4 feet from the sheU. 



E. Corpoi-al Goodno, " 13 " " " " 



F. PrivateCunniugham," 1.5 " " " " 



G. Private Cramer, " 15 " " " " 

 H. Mr. Sinclair, " 19 " " " " 

 /. Private Burns, " 19 '' " " " 

 J. Corporal Ingram, " 10 " " " " 



Sergeant Abbott was blown ten feet from his 

 position ; Private King (who was closing the 

 screw plug in the base of the shell with a drift 

 and hammer, and thus exploded it) was instantly 

 killed, and his body was blown fifty -five feet 

 away ; Lieutenant Medcalfe, who was standing by 

 the side of the shell, was blown twenty-two feet, 

 and died in thirty minutes ; Private Clark was 

 blown fifteen feet. The other six men kept their 

 feet during the explosion. Eight men thus es- 

 caped with their lives, but all of them were more 

 or less injured by the concussion, and some of 

 them received contused wounds or were burned 

 by the blast. 



As might have been expected, the immediate 

 effect of the severe concussion caused by the blast 

 of the explosion just described was dumfounding 

 in the extreme, so far as most of the persons in 

 the immediate vicinity were concerned. The 

 mental confusion which ensued in some of the 

 cases lasted a long time, and in one instance, that 

 of Corporal Clark, it is doubtful if complete re- 

 covery ever takes place. 



In some of the cases the absence of prominent 

 symptoms of injury of the ear, such as pain in the 

 organ, tinnitus, deafness, or discharge, was notice- 

 able. Soldiers are, however, as a rule, accustomed 

 to endure hardship without complaint, and, in 



