The development of the specialty of otology has followed the accumulation of knowledge in anatomy, physiology, and pathology. The course of this development has proceeded from the external ear, through the middle ear, to the inner ear, neural pathways, and cerebral cortex. In the past the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the middle ear has been fairly well explored. There are still many things to learn about this area, but enough knowledge has accumulated to allow exciting advances in recent years both in medical and in surgical treatment of middle-ear disease, and this has constituted a true renaissance in middle-ear therapy with preservation and restoration of serviceable hearing in many cases that previously would have been considered hopeless. This area has been the easiest to study, and therefore, the first to be thoroughly explored. The areas of the inner ear and central pathways, being much more inaccessible, have necessarily lagged