2. _Post-Natal._--We have collected and grouped the stated causes of deafness in those partners of the marriages in America noticed by Fay. About a hundred and thirty did not mention how they lost hearing. Any errors in this calculation must be less than 1% at most, and can make no material difference. In some cases two or more diseases are given as the cause of deafness. In such cases where one is a very common cause of deafness, and the other is unusual, the former is credited with being the reason for the defect. Where both are common, we have divided the cases between them in a rough proportion.
Scarlet fever 973; scarlatina 3; scarlet rash 2 978
Spotted fever 260; meningitis 92; spinal meningitis 76; cerebro-spinal meningitis 70; spinal fever 28; spinal disease 8; congestion of spine 2 536
Brain fever 309; inflammation of brain 62; congestion of brain 30; disease in brain 3 404
Typhoid 127; "fever" (unspecified) 117; typhus 17; intermittent fever 14; bilious fever 11; other fevers 14 300
Gatherings, inflammations, in head; ulcers, disease, sores, risings, &c., all but 22 being explicitly stated to be in head or ears 276
"Sickness" 167; "illness" 49; "disease" 8; no definite specification 12 236
Colds 101; colds in head, &c. 35; catarrh 19; catarrhal fevers 10; chills, &c. 17 182
Whooping cough 77; diphtheria 34; lung fever, and various diseases of lungs and throat 60 171
Fits and convulsions 58; spasms 18; teething 16 92
Scrofula 35; mumps 25; swellings on neck 2 62
Smallpox 8; chickenpox 6, cholera, &c. 7; canker, &c. 11; erysipelas 13 45
Paralysis, &c. 12; nerve diseases 12; fright 8; palsy 3 35
Hydrocephalus 14; dropsy on brain or in head 17; dropsy 2 33
Quinine 22; other medicines 7 29 ---- Total 3804 ----
We have counted a hundred and thirty of those who were returned as having lost hearing who were also stated to be the offspring of consanguineous marriages.
Dr Kerr Love (_Deaf Mutism_, p. 150) gives the following list compiled from the registers of British institutions:--
Scarlet fever 331 Miscellaneous causes 175 Teething, convulsions, &c. 171 Meningitis, brain fever, &c. 166 Measles 138 Falls and accidents 122 Enteric and other fevers 119 Disease, illness, &c. 37 Whooping cough 33 Suppurative ear diseases 18 Syphilis 2 ---- 1312