Blowing one’s nose too vigorously can lead to more than a nosebleed (How to clear your nose hygienically, G2, 15 October). Years ago, my first wife was trying to help me modify my habit of sneezing, probably due to a soap allergy, by getting me to blow my nose better. One morning I blew hard through one nostril and went deaf in my left ear. Thinking I’d blown some goo up the Eustachian tube, I got it checked out. In fact I had destroyed most of the nerves in my ear through “blood stress”: the same as stamping on a hose and pushing the water out. The shock of the blow had been conducted to the ear, through the blood, and blown the nerves. This can happen to any nerve-driven function, but rarely twice to the same person. Now, where’s my handkerchief?

David Cockayne

Lymm, Cheshire

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