Imperfect hearing and the hygiene of the ear : including nervous symptoms, tinnitus aurium, aural vertigo, diseases of the naso-pharyngeal membrane, middle ear, and mastoid region : with home instruction of the deaf / by Laurence Turnbull.

  • Laurence Turnbull
Date:
1881
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Imperfect hearing and the hygiene of the ear : including nervous symptoms, tinnitus aurium, aural vertigo, diseases of the naso-pharyngeal membrane, middle ear, and mastoid region : with home instruction of the deaf / by Laurence Turnbull. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    SELECT PROPER CASKS FOR THE OPERAT] 7> which has never healed, and the hearing not only went back the (our inches, but has become worse, in spite of all his c and treatment. The second was a young German, who waa ing West, and was brought lor treatment; so desirous was the surgeon to hasten this case that he punctured his membra tvmpani at once, with the hope of a sudden cure, but instead of cure he unfortunately lost the little hearing remaining in that ear, and had to go West, after ten days' treatment, with the wound open, and liable to take cold in it from exposure in travelling. Case I.—Plastic inflammation of the mucous membrane of (he mid- dle ear, involving Eustachian tabes. Removal of a small. / of material by incision of the membrane, with decided and contin- ued improvement. M. D., aged 22, a professional male cook in a large hotel, where he was exposed at all times to a heated and moist atmosphere. In March, 1875, soon after having his hair cut short, he was sud- denly seized with deafness, and with a rilling up of his right ear and nose, as he expressed it, which, greatly increased. lie did not at that time apply for treatment, but in July, 1876, the hum- ming sound became so intense that he could not sleep, and he had to give up his occupation. He was so deaf that he was un- able to hear, except when spoken to in the loudest tones. lie then visited the University of Pennsylvania, and was informed that he had catarrhal deafness; but rinding no relief, he soon discontinued his attendance. The man employed some domestic and also quack remedies, with but little or no relief. lie then applied at the Howard Hospital, March 7, 1877, when the physi- cian employed Politzer's air douche, and also some local remedies to his throat, etc. This treatment was continued for some time, but not much benefit resulted. From his statement, and the annoying subjective symptoms, the white or grayish spotted appearance of the membrane, and the want of the moist sounds of catarrh, I made up my mind that there was some foreign mat- ter there that wanted removal. There was no bulging of the membrana tympani. I therefore, on March 7th, assisted by Dr. Gilmer, penetrated the membrane with a small delicate round- pointed knife, near to the foreign matter, which was in the vicinity of the handle of the malleus, and enlarged the opening downward, so as to give a free exit. There were but a few drops of very tenacious mucus forced out \>y the Eustachian catheter.