ALLERGIC conditions of the ear and pathologic variations due to altered sensitivity occur more frequently than generally recognized. A review of the various allergic manifestations with some attempt at clarification and classification should be of value to the otologist and allergist. It is now a well established fact that allergy predisposes to and aggravates many diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Recent surveys, including those of Shambaugh,1 King,2 and Hamlin3 relating to the frequency of allergy as an etiologic factor or as a complication in diseases of the ear, nose and throat, show 70 to 90 per cent of all office patients to be allergic. Still more recently there has been interest in the relation of allergy to the ear. Jones4 stated that allergic reactions involving the mucous membrane of the eustachian tube and tympanic cavity have not received sufficient consideration.
The primary factor in the clinical aspect of the