Deafness and muteness

“ This observation may throw some light on the medical treatment of deaf people; as it may be learnt from their dreams whether the auditory nerve be paralytic, or their deafness be owing to some defect of the external organ. ”

“ A common form of deafness is the result of hardening of the connections between the ear bones, so that the chain no longer follows well the vibrations of the drum. This usually begins to come on during the twenties or thirties, and causes almost complete deafness by the age of fifty. ”

“ The organ of hearing is injured at its peripheral extremity, or else the acusticus in its course; then occurs difficulty of hearing or deafness. What is spoken is not correctly heard or not heard at all: the utterance is correct only in case the lesion happened late. If it is [Page 37] inborn, then this lack of speech, alalia, is called deaf-mutism, although the so-called deaf and dumb are not in reality dumb, but only deaf. If words spoken are incorrectly heard on account of acquired defects of the peripheral ear, the patient mis-hears, and the abnormal condition is called paracusis. ”

“ Causes of Impairment of Hearing.—The majority of the affections of the middle ear originate from extensions of catarrhal inflammations, from the nose and throat, through the Eustachian tubes. In children adenoids are the most frequent cause of deafness. The so-called hereditary deafness is probably due to an inherited configuration of the septum of the nose, a bending of the septum to one side, or a tendency to catarrhal affections of its mucous membranes. ”

“ Or a man whose ears have drunk in music bear deafness? Deafness and blindness of heart would be his portion in that part of life when most he needed ear and eye—deafness and blindness after having come to understand the melody of a happy home, and see the beauty of a child-encircled hearth. ”

“ It is thought that different cells respond to tones of different pitch, but exactly how this is accomplished is not known.
Deafness may result from failure of the sensitive inner ear to respond, or from poor transmission of vibrations across the middle ear by the chain of bones, or by interference with the freedom of action of the eardrum, or by preventing the air waves from striking upon the drum. Injury to the inner ear is rare, because of its secure position within the bone. ”

“ Sometimes water that gets in this way causes inflammation and cold, which hurt the sense of hearing. No one should ever strike another on the ear, even in play. It is likely to cause deafness. What is called the drum of the ear is a very delicate membrane which receives the sound. ”

“ As sound was for him before his deafness the perceptible form in which the cause of a movement was draped, objects moved without sound seemed to be being moved also without cause; deprived of all resonant quality, they shew a spontaneous activity, seem to be alive. They move, halt, become alight of their own accord. ”

“ In all cases of congenital deafness it will be found that there exists some disorganization of the organ of hearing itself, some obstruc tion in the internal ear or compression of the auditory nerve, whereby the vibrations of the ear are prevented from pro ducing the required effect upon the internal parts of the ear, or from being communicated to the brain. ”

“ They give trouble from the mechanical impediment they present to swallowing and clear articulation, and when very large they cause the breathing to be more or less noisy at all times, but especially during sleep, while again they may give rise to a measure of deafness. ”

“ The causes assigned for congenital deafness are consanguineous marriages, hereditary transmission, weak constitutions of parents, scrofula, climate, and the ill-health of the mother at a certain period of life. There is necessarily difficulty in ascertaining the real cause of deaf ness. ”

“ The most common disorder to which these organs are liable, is Deafness. Having already treated of that malady, we cannot avoid animadverting on the impropriety of employing the common ear-trumpets, which, though they may afford temporary aid, ultimately destroy that useful sense. ”

“ When deafness is present in infancy and childhood, it is accompanied with dumbness, or imperfect articulation, in consequence of the impossibility of conveying a knowledge of the sounds necessary for the exercise of the imitative faculty of speech. Deafness frequently arises from some imperfection or obstruction of the passage leading to the membrane of the tympanum or drum of the ear. In some cases this passage is totally closed by a membrane, or some malformation of the tube, which may frequently be removed by a surgical operation. ”

“ Stroud Street, Dover, the first application of which gives immediate relief, restoring the hearing in the most confirmed stages of deafness, whether from old age, nervousness, or any predisposing cause, to which children and adults are subject, and from which deafness follows the heavy affliction of noises in the head and ears, immediately removed by its use. ”

“ He stated that it is a very common cause of deafness and can seldom be cured; that the bringing of the uneven pressure on the Eustachian tube or other parts had broken away the secretion which had cemented these small bones together and permitted the ear-drum to vibrate as it should, and probably that was the only way in which she could have been helped. I am publishing this incident in the hope that it may lead to the construction of scientific apparatus for the cure of deafness in cases where the deafness is caused by trouble similar to that of the professor's wife. ”

“ It should never be assumed that deafness is incurable. Stupidity, inattention, and slowness to grasp a situation accompany difficulty of hearing and should cause the teacher to examine the ears. No ear trouble is negligible. ”

“ Stimulation of the auditive centers, in the same part of the brain, provokes movements of the ears, eyes, and head, showing astonishment or terror, just like those caused by a violent and unexpected noise. Ablation causes deafness; the animal remains indifferent to all sounds. Excite the centers of touch, and the signs indicate disagreeable or painful tactile impressions. Ablation brings on complete anæsthesia of the same parts; you may prick, cut, and bruise the animal, and he remains insensible. ”

“ Detection of slight deafness may lead to the discovery of serious defects of nose or throat. Inflammation from cold or catarrh may cause deafness, which if neglected may permanently injure the ear. Often deafness is due to an accumulation of wax. A running ear should receive immediate attention, as it is an indication of inflammation which may imperil the integrity of the eardrum, and, if neglected, may eat its way through the thin partition between the ear and the brain and cause death. ”

“ That a slight deafness, which does not prevent a person from hearing when he is expecting to be spoken to, will make him very dull to what he is not expecting. 3. That there is a kind of deafness in which a person can hear pretty well while listening, but is really very hard of hearing when not listening.
Avoid Direct Draughts in the Ear.—There are some exposures especially to be guarded against. One is sitting or driving with the ear exposed to a side wind. Deafness has also been known to come from letting rain or sleet drive into the ear. ”

“ If it be suffered to continue for any length of time without being cleaned, a species of wax accumulates in it; which, if not speedily removed, becomes tough and hard, diminishes the acuteness of hearing, and produces at length total deafness. ”

“ The vital statistics show that consanguineous marriages are a large factor in deaf-muteism; about ten per cent., it is estimated, of the deaf-mutes are the offspring of parents related by blood. Ancestral defects are not always perpetuated in kind; they may descend in physical deformity, in deafness, in imbecility. Deafness is more apt to descend in collateral branches than in a straight line. ”

“ Deaf-mutism is so varied that frequently two unrelated deaf mutes may have hearing children. But if the deaf-mute parents are cousins, the chances that the deafness is due to the same unit defect are increased and all of the children will probably be deaf. ”

“ Deafness is an exceedingly common complication of catarrh of the throat. The ear communicates with the back of the nose through the eustachian tube, and when the mucous membrane of the nose or throat is inflamed, the end of the tube is very apt to share in the condition, and so deafness results. Deafness from this cause is often exceedingly intractable. ”

“ I wrote to a fellow who advertises to cure deafness instantaneously by electro-acoustico magnetism, and the impudent impostor [Pg 6] hasn’t taken the trouble to answer. The whole world seems determined to thwart me. (Takes book again, and reads.) “In treating deafness, it should first be ascertained whether the tympanum be thickened or perforated, and whether also the minute bones of the auricular organ are yet intact.” (Sticks little finger in his ear.) I think they’re all right. (Reads.) “And, further, be certain that the Eustachian tube is free from obstruction.” ”

“ In the outlook there is, on the whole, promise, both in respect to the treatment of deafness itself and of the diseases that lead to deafness, though it cannot be said in any sense that any large or general relief is at present in sight. ”

“ Children thus affected hear only with difficulty and by straining certain small muscles of the ear, which soon become fatigued, and the child becomes listless and inattentive. I have seen numerous cases in which children have been severely punished for inattention, when this was due to defective hearing. Watchfulness and early attention in these cases will frequently prevent the more serious forms of deafness. ”

“ Of the classified cases of deafness, according to the census, 56.3 per cent are due to diseases affecting the middle ear, and 42.7 per cent to diseases affecting the internal. Of diseases of the middle ear, 72 per cent are of suppurative character, often with inflammation or abscess, and 28 per cent non-suppurative, or rather catarrhal in character. Of diseases of the internal ear, 89 per cent are affections of the nerve, and 10 per cent of the labyrinth. It is to be noted that when the affection is of the internal ear, the result is usually total deafness. ”

“ Of that form of deafness in which neither consanguineous marriages nor antecedent deafness is involved, we are at present, as we have noted, able to say little definitely. In most cases we may be convinced that there exists in the parent some peculiar state of morbidity or other affection, latent or manifest, perhaps to some extent of hereditary influence, which has an effect on the organs of hearing of the offspring. A certain proportion is quite possibly due to recognizable defects both of physical and mental character. ”

“ If the hearing is properly tested just as soon as the ringing in the ears has become more or less constant, some degree of deafness will be detected. As the case progresses, even before all the so-called superfluous hearing has been destroyed, the patient will realize that he is becoming deaf. For this condition there is nothing to be done by the patient himself. ”

“ Care of the ears.—Very loud noises may harm the ear and make you deaf. When you expect a very loud noise, put your fingers in your ears to shut out the sound.
Boxing the ears may break their tiny drums and make you deaf. ”

“ After-birth or acquired deafness occurs at all ages, and has its origin in such diseases as small-pox, measles, typhus, convulsions, paralysis, hydrocephalus, and other affections of the brain, and " scarlatina, which more frequently than any other disease leaves the patient deaf, in consequence of the inflammatory state of the throat extending to the internal ear, causing suppuration and destruction of the delicate apparatus on which hearing depends ”

“ That difficulty has its ground in the unwillingness of parents to admit that their children -were born deaf. Their deafness is often attributed to some infantile disease, though the defect is congenital. On the other hand, when they have lost the sense of hearing at an early age, they may be included among the congenitally deaf. But all institutions for the deaf and dumb contain instances which illustrate scientific investigations, and establish the position that such causes as those now alluded to tend to induce and perpetuate the disease of deafness. ”

“ When this disease proceeds from an obstruction of the lachrymal duct, or natural passage of the tears, it is called a fistula lachrymalis, and can only be cured by a surgical operation.
OF THE EAR. The functions of the ear may be injured by wounds, ulcers, or any thing that hurts its fabric. The hearing may likewise be hurt by excessive noise; violent colds in the head; fevers; hard wax, or other substances sticking in the cavity of the ear; too great a degree of moisture or dryness of the ear. Deafness is very often the effect of old age, and is incident to most people in the decline of life. ”

“ The air in the middle ear then becomes absorbed in part, and a species of vacuum is produced with increased pressure from without on the eardrum. The drum membrane will be pressed in, and through the little bones pressure will be made against the sensitive nervous apparatus, irritating it and giving rise to deafness, dizziness, and the sensation of noises in the ear. Noises from without will also be intensified in passing through the middle ear when it is converted into a closed cavity through the blocking of the Eustachian tube. ”

“ All cases show deafness, and in most of them of an absolute degree. And here is where the tuning-fork proves a valuable aid in diagnosis of deafness due to middle-ear disease, in which cases the tuning-fork is heard best on the deaf side, and to deafness due to internal-ear disease, where the tuning-fork is heard the least on the deaf side. Vertigo and a staggering gait are quite common symptoms, probably due to irritation of the semicircular canals. Prognosis as a rule is bad, as far as recovery is concerned, and an alterative treatment is often indicated. ”