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The first recorded myringotomy was in 1649. Astley Cooper presented 2 papers to the Royal Society in 1801, based on his observations that myringotomy could improve hearing. Widespread inappropriate use of the procedure followed, with no benefit to patients; this led to it falling from favor for many decades. Hermann Schwartze reintroduced myringotomy later in the 19th century. It had been realized earlier that the tympanic membrane heals spontaneously, and much experimentation took place in attempting to keep the perforation open. The first described grommet was made of gold foil. Other materials were tried, including Politzer's attempts with rubber. Armstrong's vinyl tube effectively reintroduced grommets into current practice last century. There have been many eponymous variants, but the underlying principle of creating a perforation and maintaining it with a ventilation tube has remained unchanged. Recent studies have cast doubt over the long-term benefits of grommet insertion; is this the end of the third era?

The introduction of the tympanostomy tube in the treatment of otitis media with effusion in the mid 20th century completely revolutionized its therapy. Nevertheless, it was not a new idea. The aim of this research is to elucidate the origin of prosthetic middle ear ventilation in the mid 19th century. A review of primary sources revealed at least seven different models of tympanostomy tube which were manufactured between 1845 and 1875. These included: Frank's gold tube, Lincke's rubber tube, Bonnafont's silver cannula, Politzer's hard rubber drain, Miot's metallic eyelet, Voltolini's gold ring, and Bonnafont's eyelet. Study of these early innovations shows that all of the technical and surgical principles of the tympanostomy tube were known in the mid 19th century. Widespread introduction into otological practice did not occur until the mid 20th century invention of the operating microscope., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The regular use of secondary references is associated with many inaccuracies. The aim of this study is to demonstrate this fact through examples extracted from recent papers mentioning the early history of myringotomy and grommets. These inaccuracies are in relation with the lack of control of the original references dealing with the subject. In conclusion, never believe and use secondary references as primary sources, without reading the original paper to confirm that it says what you think it does, but take them only for preparing and discussing the studied subject.

The first recorded myringotomy was in 1649. Astley Cooper presented two papers to the Royal Society in 1801, based on his observation that myringotomy could improve hearing. Widespread inappropriate use of the procedure followed, with no benefit to patients; this led to it falling from favour for many decades. Hermann Schwartze reintroduced myringotomy later in the nineteenth century. It had been realised earlier that the tympanic membrane heals spontaneously, and much experimentation took place in attempting to keep the perforation open. The first described grommet was made of gold foil. Other materials were tried, including Politzer's attempts with rubber. Armstrong's vinyl tube effectively reintroduced grommets into current practice last century. There have been many eponymous variants, but the underlying principle of creating a perforation and maintaining it with a ventilation tube has remained unchanged. Recent studies have cast doubt over the long-term benefits of grommet insertion; is this the end of the third era?

Although some advocated surgery of the tympanic membrane and stapes as early as early as the end of the nineteenth century, it took a long time for widespread development. Mastoid surgery had just been born and was to be greatly improved over the next century. Preservation of the tympano-ossicular its later reconstruction gradually came into use with the creation of the tympanomeatal flap and the recent development of middle ear surgery, followed by posterior tympanotomy and myringoplasty, thus allowing closed tympanoplasty. Likewise, the ventilation tube, forgotten for more than half a century, has found an important place in the treatment of chronic otitis with a closed ear drum.

In 1563, Eustachius first described the tube that came to be named for him. In 1704, Valsalva described the maneuver that bears his name, and in 1836 Deleau became one of the first to advocate infusion of pure air through the eustachian tube using a catheter. Politzer devised his own method for actively inflating the middle ear without using a catheter in 1863. Most modern studies examining the use of autoinflation in the treatment of secretory otitis media have shown a beneficial effect, with effusion being cleared in 52 to 62% of ears up to nine months after the treatment. In two studies, no effect of autoinflation could be demonstrated, and in one publication the autoinflation group had deteriorated compared to the control group. In light of the fact that secretory otitis media is a benign and transient condition, that treatment with antibiotics or insertion of ventilation tubes is not without problems, and that the chance of improving the condition by autoinflation is approximately 50%, it is concluded that autoinflation should be considered first-line treatment, before antibiotic or surgical treatment is planned.

As early as 1649, Jean Riolan the Younger pierced an ear drum, after which the patient's hearing improved. This occurred as a result of an accidental ear drum injury while cleaning an ear canal with an ear-spoon. In 17th and 18th centuries, several pioneers in medicine (Thomas Willis, Antonio Mario Valsalva, William Cheselden) conducted experiments in an effort to ascertain the function of the ear drum in hearing. At the end of the 18th century, ear drum perforation, like perforation of a cataract, was indiscriminately performed by itinerent quacks and "physicians" in England, France, and Germany. Ear drum perforation was performed in many places even for the healing of deaf and dumb. Astlee Cooper reported about success with ear drum perforation in 1800 and listed strict indications. He recommended the operation only in the presence of obturation of the Eustachian tube. Because of the negative results of indiscriminate ear drum perforation, the operation soon acquired a bad reputation and was not performed for decades. It was only Herrmann Schwartze who reintroduced paracentesis into the daily practice of otorhinolaryngology. He was director of the royal ENT clinic in Halle and published a trailblazing treatise on the indications, value, and success of this operation. Since physicians had soon realized that spontaneous healing tendencies of the ear drum quickly lead to closure of an artificial perforation, many physicians tried different techniques to obtain a permanent opening. Gruber resected half of the ear drum--unsuccessfully. Others put foreign bodies into the ear drum apertures, such as catgut, whalebone rods, and lead wires. In his textbook of 1845, Martell Frank first described a grommet made of gold foil. Politzer experimented with a hard rubber ring but later abandoned his attempts because of lack of success. Voltolini manufactured an open hollow ring of gold foil or aluminium, which had to be fixed at the handle of the malleur. Armstrong described a "new" therapy for chronic secretory otitis media consisting of inserting a vinyl tube into the ear drum. While he was not the inventor of the grommet, he was the first to reintroduce grommets in the middle of the 20th century. Theromoparacentesis was performed as early as 1867 by Voltolini, who performed this operation using a galvanic cautery device. After more than 100 years, the Japanese physician Saito reintroduced thermoparacentesis into the therapy of tube ventilation disorders. Paracentesis, grommet insertion, and thermoparacentesis are among the most successful treatments currently available to the ENT specialist when used properly. They are treatments with a long history.

One reason for the current epidemic in the rate of surgery for glue ear in children is that a shift in treatment has taken place from non-surgical to surgical methods. An historical review of the treatment of this condition reveals the existence of previous 'surgical epidemics' and the importance of two particular factors-technical developments, such as the design of tympanostomy tubes and the introduction of antibacterial drugs; and the lure of panaceas such as ionizing radiation. In addition, it reveals how medical practice is, like most human behaviour, subject to fashion. Despite this, there is a constant desire by practitioners to be adjudged 'scientific' in their work, and definitions of science are equally susceptible to change over time.