Progress in the amelioration of certain forms of deafness and impaired hearing / by J.C. Gordon.

  • Gordon, Joseph Claybaugh, 1842-1903.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Progress in the amelioration of certain forms of deafness and impaired hearing / by J.C. Gordon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    he is confident that in a great majority of cases as much improve- ment will result as from removal of the entire stapes, and the operation is a simple one. [A Voice: 1 should like to ask Dr. Gordon;—In the suc- cessful cases, did the tympanum heal again, or remain open ?\ [Dr. Gordon: In many cases the tympanum healed; while in others it has been left entirely open, which is a very desir- able condition. It remained open in 21 of Lucae's cases and closed in 6, and the hearing was improved in all.] I have records of persons on whom this operation has been performed, in which there is not a trace of this membrane left. The middle ear opens up completely, and it is simply a clean and dry passage. The physical condition is much preferable to that of those whose ears are affected by disease, because they are perfedly clean, and give no trouble whatever. An exposure to the air, under different atmospheric conditions, seems to occasion no inconvenience And I may say that in conversations I had with a number of members of the American Society of Otologists which met in June, I was told that in many cases even if this operation did not result in the improvement of the hearing of deaf children it would be highly conducive to the general health and comfort of the deaf. All discharges are easily controlled, and usually stopped completely. In a great many cases there is the disappearance of headaches, and other unpleasant symptoms with which some children are affected. The operation is advised by some of these otologists even when there is no prosped of hearing, on account of the improvement of the general conditions. [A Voice: Is there any form of disorder likely to result from leaving an opening in the tympanum.?] [Dr. Gordon: There is not. It is considered preferable to keep this open by some physicians; I cannot say that it is by all.] [A Voice: Is it possible that the removal of the eardrum may occasion inconvenience in swallowing, by leaving an open pas- sage from the throat to the external air through the eustachian tube ?] [Dr. Gordon: In a great many cases the eustachian tube has long ceased to perform its fundions. By the way, the eus- tachian tube is situated so high that 1 imagine that ordinarily the opening could not interfere with swallowing It is placed