Deafness practically illustrated / [James Yearsley].

  • James Yearsley
Date:
[1849]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Deafness practically illustrated / [James Yearsley]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    134/200 page 122
    out still further endangering the organ of hearing. One benefit attending the use of this injection is, that it entirely removes the disagreeable fetor of most chronic ear-discharges: this alone would render it of great value in the treatment of aural disease; but it seldom fails to moderate the discharge, where there are no fungous growths in the canal, or erosion of the membrana tympani. One of the most striking forms of deafness, and for- tunately one most easily remedied, is that in which, after catarrhal inflammation of the Eustachian tubes, the tubes and middle ear are gorged with thickened mucus, which often remains fixed the whole life-time, unless accidentally displaced by a sudden respiratory action, as sneezing, or during the effort of vomiting. The most rational way of cleansing out the obstructed cavities would seem to be the injection of tepid water through an Eustachian catheter, as performed by Wathen. The same end is obtained, and much more agreeably to the patient, by the injection of compressed air, after the manner of Deleau. I adopt the latter, and find that a few operations, or even one, will break down the agglutinated mucus, and admit air to the tympanum, so as to reproduce the hearing in a most remarkable manner. After air has once been admitted, it stimulates the membrane to pour out a fluid secre- tion (capable of being heard by the stethoscope), which appears to carry off the dissolved fragments of mucus by way of the tuba Eustachii. Such cases are by no means rare, and would alone be sufficient to confer value on Eustachian catheterism, even were there no other uses to which it could be applied in the treat- ment of deafness.
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