[Assessment of traumatic hearing loss]. / Begutachtung von traumatischen Gehörschäden.

Expert assessment of traumatic damage in the head and neck area by the adjuster broadly comprises two main questions: does a causal relationship between the complaint and the specific insured event exist, and what is the extent of the damage? A relationship is probable if the trauma is quantitively and qualitatively suitable to have caused the existent damage. A particularly difficult scenario is represented by cases lacking pre-accident findings or when the claimant claims that pre-existing hearing loss or tinnitus has been worsened by the event or that the accident was the cause of the impairment. It must also be taken into account that claimants frequently relate their complaints to an insured event due to causal thinking. Comprehensive tables are available for evaluation of the extent of the damage in otorhinolaryngology. In statutory accident insurance, the health damage is "considerable" if it leads to a reduced earning capacity of at least 10%. In private accident insurance, physical damage is financially regulated at below 10% invalidity, e.g., 2-3%, although this is hardly possible to calculate using conventional tables. These and other difficulties are discussed in the article based on examples.

[The tracheotomy of Kaiser Friedrich III in the Year of the Three Kaisers, 1888 : Presentation of the original historical image to the DGHNO-KHC]. / Die Tracheotomie von Kaiser Friedrich III. im 3-Kaiser-Jahr 1888 : Überreichung der historischen Originalabbildung an die DGHNO-KHC.

The current article describes an image depicting an otorhinolaryngologic surgical intervention being performed on Kaiser Friedrich III. The image was captured by the lithography of an unknown artist and originates from a Cologne printing press. Kaiser Friedrich III was the penultimate German Kaiser and died June 15, 1888, in Potsdam, after ruling for only 99 days (the Year of the Three Kaisers). Toward the end of his period as Prince Regent and during his time on the throne, Kaiser Friedrich III was tracheostomized and wore a silver cannula. This publication on the Kaiser's disease and the background of the lithography marks the occasion of presentation of this historic image to the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery by the author.