ASSOCIATION OF TOXIC DEAFNESS WITH TOXIC AMBLYOPIA DUE TO TOBACCO AND ALCOHOL

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the otologic findings in thirtysix cases of toxic amblyopia due to tobacco and alcohol. During the study of these cases by one of us in the eye service of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary the idea occurred that there might also be some associated changes in the ear. This possibility was considered not only because the occurrence of toxic deafness is well known, but because of the functional and anatomic similarity between the spiral ganglion cells of the cochlea and the ganglion cells of the retina. The latter are believed by some observers to be the site of the primary lesion in the eye. Tobacco-alcohol amblyopia is a definite clinical entity. It is characterized by a centrocecal scotoma, that is, a scotoma extending between, and including, the blindspot and the fixation area. The scotoma is larger for red than