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102
Audiometry
Hearing loss may be detected not only by clinical examination
but also by the use of audiometers (machines which provide an
accurate assessment of the hearing defect). Routine audiometry
forms part of the health examination of school entrants, and preschool
children are tested whenever possible. The tests are performed
by three school nurses with special experience in the use
of the apparatus. An audiometry test is employed as a preliminary
measure in the investigation of educational subnormality as a deaf
child of normal intelligence may sometimes give the impression of
being educationally subnormal. Audiometry is of particular value
in investigating learning difficulties which are sometimes found to
be due to a relatively slight degree of defective hearing.

Audiology clinics and deaf register
At the end of 1969 there were 300 Wandsworth children on the
deaf register, ten of whom were under compulsory school age. One
hundred and twenty-seven were pupils at special schools throughout
the country and are supervised by otologists who visit the
schools at regular intervals, and 163 attend ordinary schools.
One hundred and forty-one children on the deaf register attend
local audiology clinics provided by the Inner London Education
Authority and thirty-two are under hospital supervision. One
hundred and forty-one children living in Wandsworth are known
to have hearing-aids and eleven of these were issued in 1969.
The hearing-aid technician at the Braidwood Audiology Unit in
the London Borough of Lambeth is a welcome addition to their
staff and ensures that the aids are serviced and used regularly.
A total of 300 children attend the audiology clinics in the
Borough. Most of the children who come to the clinics are given
a preliminary "sweep test" by a school nurse. Some are discharged
after treatment, others are referred to hospital for minor
surgery, but many have a slight but permanent hearing loss. The
peripatetic teacher of the deaf and the social worker attached to
the clinics ensure that the effects of the handicap are minimised.
Special investigation clinics
By the end of the year 246 children were attending the special
investigation clinics held in the Borough. The majority of these
children are enuretic and many are cured within a few months.
During the year there has been an increase in the number of
referrals in the central and southern areas of the Borough, many