Doctors' discussion.

On this evening four cases were discussed. Case One concerned a young boy who was first seen at the OMG at 6 months of age with severe hearing loss since birth. A lively discussion followed on whether a hearing aid could improve hearing by stimulation of the cochlear nerve. Case Two is that of a 14-year-old boy who was first seen at the OMG at the age of 9 years with complete paralysis of the left side of his face since he was 5 months of age. An interesting discussion of what might be done to alleviate the child's paralysis after a negative exploration of the nerve was included. Case Three involves a 10-year-old girl with an only hearing ear whose mother felt that a hearing aid would worsen hearing. A discussion of the sensitivity of ears owing to recruitment in patients with Meniere's disease follows this case. Case Four is that of a 36-year-old stewardess who was subjected to a rapid decompression while on a routine airline flight.