Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1880-02-26
Deafness in Children.

The ear is subject to affections that
impair its functions at the earliest
period of life; indeed, it is frequently
found to be defective at birth. Chill
dren are exposed to influences from
which they seldom entirely escape with
out more or less aural disease. Such
are the consequences of colds, which,
when of long continuance, are produc.
tive of enlarged tonsils, chronic catarrh
of the mouth, throat and nose, the re-
sulting sympathetic deafness in some
instances being so great that instruc.
ton is impossible, and the child is un'
able to learn to talk. 1t is then a deaf
mute.
The fact should not be lost sight Of
that at this early period of existence
the function of hearing is crude, and
requires gradual cultivation for its de-
velopment, and that any deafness
should be promptly met. Thus the
hearing of children ought to be often
tested, and although accurate results
may be difficult of obtainment, the
knowledge gained is advantageous.
Should an infant escape all other
causes of aural disease, it encounters
at the seventh month q physiological
process in development that is fire.
quently the source of great irritation
in the mouth, and of sympathetic irri-
tation in the ears. l refer to the cut
ting 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 and 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 to be thus heralded. For
tunate, therefore, is the infant who has
passed its second year, the period at
which first dentition is concluded, with
out having experienced aural irritation.
These first teeth, however, are sub
ject to premature decay, as we'll as a
natural absorption of their roots, before
the sixth year, at which time the second
dentition begins. From this cause sym
pathetic aural trouble often arises, and
frequently continues while the second
teeth are cutting.
About the sixth year, as stated, the
second or permanent teeth begin to
make their appearance, and at the thir-
teenth year they have all been cut,
with the exception of the wisdom teeth.
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 cessation of den
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
condition than before, repeated inVa-
sions finally leaving behind irreparable
injury. In these cases, even when COM
paratively unimportant as respects
pain, competent advice cannot be too
early obtained, for the longer they are
neglected, the less amenable to treat
ment they become.
Certain diseases of childhood very
frequently affect the ears; such are
scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria,
cerebro-spinal meningitis, whooping-
cough, and mumps. During the attacks
of these diseases, and even when con-
valescence has been established, al
though earache may be absent, occa-
sional examinations of the ears should
be made, in order that, if affected, they
may receive early attention. Deafness
is usually an early symptom of most
aural affections; but, on the contrary,
in some instances very considerable i'm
pairment of the drum cavity and its
contained mechanism exists without
any perceptible Impairment of hearing.
1t is believed that very small per-
centage of the adult population pos
sess normal hearing, which fact greatly
depends on the neglect in childhood to
which allusion has above been made. -
Dr.. Samuel SeGt02a, igo HGrper'S MGgG-
zine for March.