Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 6, 1898. To the Editor: —Mrs. H. brought her son, 9 years of age, to consult me in regard to his left ear. He had been treated for earache, deafness and ringing in the ear by a physician for the past month, but could not get any relief. Good illumination showed the auditory canal to be normal, but what at first sight I supposed to be the membrana tympanum, showing as it did the cone, or pyramid of light, did not present the outlines of the ossicles. Instead of probing I used the politzer inflation on that side, and again examined the ear and found that I had dislodged the supposed drum, which was a foreign body tightly impacted against the membrana tympanum. A syringe full of warm sterilized water brought away a circular concavo convex piece of mother of pearl (the larger end of a small