Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1880-04-08
NO. 81


mouth, throat and nose, the resallina
sympathetic deafness in some instances
being 50 great that obstruction Is impos-
sible, and the child 10 unable 70 learn 10
talk. IL Is then deaf mute.
The fact should not be lost sight of
that at this early period ofexistence the
junction Of hearing IS crude, and re-
quires gradual cultivation for is devel-
opment, and that any deafness should
be promptly met. Thus the hearing 81
children oaghs g Be OTTER ieste6 nd
sllbuuRh accurate rusu|
ckSlt Of ohsAinnsnl. k0 AaMia 4
gained Is advantageous.
Should an infant escape i'm oll.er
causes Of aural disease il encounters at
the seventh month physiological pro-
cess in development that is frequently
the source of great irritation in the
mouth, and Of sympathetic irritation ia
the ears. refer TO the cutting OF the
teeth, which usually begins at this age.
That this period is fraught with special
danger to the organ OF hearing is well
recognized by both mothers aud nurses,
who have long considered teething as
IN some way connected with earache.
Every one Of the first twenty teeth in
perforating the gum is liable 10 be thus
heralded. Fortunate, therefore, is the
infant who has passed its second year,
the period at which first dentltion is
concluded, without having experienced
aural irritation.
These first teeth, however, are sub
ieet to premature decay, as well as a
natural absorption of their roots. before
the second dentition begins. From this
cause sympathetic sural trouble often
arises, and frequently continues while
the second teeth are cutting.
About The sixth year, as stated, the
second or permanent teeth begin 10
make their appearance, and at the thir-
teenth year they have all been cut, with
the exception Of the wisdom-ieeth.
These Second teeth are promoters Of
even more disturbance in The ears than
the first; the earaches and discharges
are more persistent, the complications
in general more grave. Subsequent to
this period there is a cessation of dem
tai irritation, although established dis
charges from the ears are liable TO con-
tinue on indefinitely.
The foregoing remarks will serve TO
draw attention to the liability existing
in youth to frequently recurring attacks
OF earache, each one of which leaves the
conductive mechanism in a worse con-
dition than before, repeated Invasions
finally leaving behind irreparable in-
jury. In these cases, even when COM
Paratively unimportant as respects pain.
competent advice cannot be too early
obtained, for the longer they are neg
lected the less amenable TO treatment
they become.
Certain diseases Of childhood very
frequently affect the ears; such are scar
let fever, measles, diphtheria, cerebro-
spinal meningitis. whooping-eough and
mumps. During the attacks Of these
diseases, and even when cOnvalescence
has been established, although earache
may be absent, occasional examinations
Of the ears should be made, in order
that, if affected, they may receive early
attention. Deafness is usually an ear
lY symptom of most aural affections;
out' Oh tue CohIdTyI III ss'he INSTANT %
very considerable impairment of the
drum cavity and its contained mechans
ism exists without any percephble i'm
pairment Of hearing.
II is believed that a very small per-
centage of the aduI: population possess
normal hearing, which fact greatly de-
ponds on the neglect in childhood TO
which allusion has above been made
Dr.. Samuel ScrtOn, in Harper.