EAR COMPLICATIONS OF TROPICAL DISEASES 2013 



Deaf and Dumb. 



The number of deaf and dumb people is relatively high in certain 

 - parts of the tropics — e.g., in Ceylon there are 9 deaf and dumb 



males and 7 females out of 10,000 persons of each sex. In India 

 ; there are 6 males and 4 females out of 10,000 persons of each sex. 



There is a deaf and dumb school in Ceylon. 



Meniere's Disease. 



This disease, which is characterized by severe tinnitus, and vertigo 

 is often met with in the tropics. It occurs especially in planters, who 

 are exposed to the midday sun. The patients frequently recover 

 on their return to the Temperate Zone. Large doses of bromides 

 are useful. 



EAR COMPLICATIONS OF TROPICAL DISEASES. 

 Leprosy. 



The lobules of the ear are especially liable to be attacked in 

 tubercular leprosy, and are usually left long and thickened when 

 the disease has abated. 



Quinine. 



The prolonged or considerable use of quinine may cause simple 

 hyperaemia of the labyrinth, and may be associated with middle- 

 ear congestion, as dcxribed by Kirchner. The symptoms are 

 usually tinnitus aurium and deafness. It is bilateral, and comes 

 on gradually. The quinine should be stopped, and bromide of 

 ammonium prescribed, and afterwards euquinine, associated with 

 bromides, may be administered. 



Arsenic. 



A native treatment for ear disease in the Dutch East Indies is 

 by the application of a powder, Warangangpulver, containing some 

 90 to 96 per cent, of arsenious acid. According to Benjamins, this 

 may lead to destruction of the auricle and obliteration of the 

 external auditory meatus, with sometimes necrosis of the bone, 

 and even fatal haemorrhage from the internal carotid artery. 



Malaria. 



Reports of suppurative otitis media being caused by malaria cannot be 

 accepted as proven, but intermittent otalgia, intermittent attacks of deafness, 

 and labyrinthine vertigo may be of malarial origin, especially if relieved by 

 quinine. 



DISEASES OF THE NOSE. 



Disease of the nose is intimately connected with disease of the 

 ear, and to a less degree with disease of the conjunctiva. The 

 acute catarrhal rhinitis, or common cold, may be induced by pro- 

 longed exposure to the sun's rays, as well as to chills, and is in every 



