The Anatomy and physiology of the organ of hearing : with remarks on congenital deafness, the diseases of the ear, some imperfections of the organ of speech, and the proper treatment of these several affections / By David Tod.

  • Tod, David
Date:
1832
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Anatomy and physiology of the organ of hearing : with remarks on congenital deafness, the diseases of the ear, some imperfections of the organ of speech, and the proper treatment of these several affections / By David Tod. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    much force, or kept too long in contact with the textures it may meet with, it will, in all probability, remove them from their relative positions, and thus cause an irreparable injury. In investigating the causes of the various phsenomena of life, and in particular of those which are performed in an imperfect manner, it is of importance to acquire a knowledge of every circumstance connected with the machine by which they are accomplished. This inquiry should include the whole period of the individual's ex- istence, and even extend to that of the parents. In con- genital deafness, after the necessary examination which we have noticed has been made, we should inquire into the state of the organs of hearing at birth; whether any discharge or disease appeared in them; whether the mo- ther had been delivered with the assistance of the lever or forceps; whether the cries of the infant had been re- marked as different from those of others; whether the general health had been from that period invariably good; whether any disease existed in the family, or any siphi- litic affection had, at any time, appeared in either of the parents,—and so on. By instituting so rigorous an in- quiry, a general idea of the cause of the imperfection of the sense may, in many cases, be formed, and much light thrown on the pathology and principles of treatment of the affection. The following Cases will serve to illustrate the efficacy of some of the remedies which have been noticed when speaking of the treatment of congenital deafness. Case ]. Sarah Fulford, setat. 10, of No. 8, Great Swan- alley, Coleman-street, a girl of a good but delicate consti- tution, and apparently free from all hereditary complaints. —At birth she was observed to cry verj^ indistinctly, and afterwards, when asleep, no noise could awake her. Little attention was paid to these circumstances until she was nearly two years old, when she was discovered to be deaf and dumb, and in that state she has continued ever since.