Milford chronicle., 1930-08-22

Did it ever occur to you what il
must be like to be absolutely deaf,
to be shut off from every sound in
the world? Occasionally we become
bored with quiet spells in our lives
and feel like yelling to break the
stiffness, but we have no idea of
what absolute silence is. During all
our waking hours, in the quietest
room, or on the most lonely noun
tain or prairie, our ears are con-
stantly perceiving sounds, and to be
entirely deaf is a terrible afflictiOn.
But there are thousands who suffer
it, and often for reasons that might
have been prevented.
Of the children attending institu-
tions for the deaf, almost equal
numbers are male and female. About
60 per cent were born deaf and 40
per cent acquired deafness as a re-
suit of infectious diseases. Concern
ing those born deaf / shall only say
that a considerable percentage came
from families in which there was
deafness. But l want to deal partic-
ularly with those who became deaf
in childhood, for by far the greater
number developed it before they had
reached their third year. So we must
remember that up to five years of
age is the most dangerous period,
during which the infectious diseases
have such a legacy of misery, scar
let fever and measles particularly.
Of 1892 children in one group re-
Gently studied meningitis was the
cause of deafness in 209, scarlet fe-
yer in 100, measles in 81, influenza
in 81, infantile paralysis in 81, syp-
hills in "a and mumps in II. In
nearly all the meningitis cases and
half the scarlet fever cases, the
deafness followed without the sligh-
est evidence of discharging ears, so
that we know the infection attacked
the nerve of hearing direct, causing
a toxic Inflammation. Measles is
less prone to cause a running ear
than scarlet fever, but when it does
it is a svirulent as the worst cases
of scarlet fever Measles can also
cause a toxic neuritis of the audi
tory nerve without any discharge of
the ear. Typhoid fever causes deaf
ness without any sign of ear dis
ease except in two cases. The deaf
ness of twenty-fOur children was
caused by fracture of the skull and
only one had any running of the
ears.
Mumps we do not consider a Sc
we're disease at all. 1t is looked upon
as a little hard luck on account of
the period of quarantine, or as a
joke. But mumps can kill that
nerve of hearing like a shot from a
gun. There is no pain in the ear or
swelling or pus. The destruction of
hearing which occurs in connection
with mumps is always sudden. 1t
comes out of a clear sky.
Many of these children had had
their tonsils and adenoids removed,
but the disease that brought on
deafness had struck much deeper
than anything that could be affected
by those glands. Tonsils and ade-
noids, although factor in produc-
ing deafness, yet hardly ever cause
total loss of hearing.
From this study three things
stand out quite clearly. First is the :
danger to little children under 5
years of age of the infectious fevers. !
Guard your little one against scar
let fever, measles, mumps, ETC., with !
all the care humanity possible. And
if they do contract them, put them
to bed and keep them there till all |
danger is past. Second about 80 per
cent of acquired deafness is not as
sOciated with discharging ears,
which many people expect as a def
mite danger signal. Third, the sup
purating diseases of the middle car,
while often causing a degree of
deafness, usually do not go so far
as to require a child to be placed in
an institution. So although they
should be cared for, if they occur,
by a physician accustomed to deal
ng with them, they are not peten-
tally as dangerous as some of the
better known diseases which. many
foolish parents still think "every
child should have and get them over
With"