London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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57
Deaf
Children.
During the year Mr. Wells examined 385 children with defective hearing, the
decisions regarding whom are set out on page 54. Of these, 14 were cases already
attending special classes, which left 371 new cases. Below is an analysis of the
hearing defects and the educational grading of these cases, excluding those specially
referred. Grade I includes children who can benefit educationally at an ordinary
school without any form of special facility; grade IIa includes those children who
can benefit educationally at an ordinary school, but require special facilities such
as favourable position in class, mechanical hearing aid, etc.; grade IIb includes
children who need educational training in a partially deaf class; and grade III
includes those children who can only benefit by education provided in a school for
the deaf.
Acquired cases.—Hearing detect due to:-
| Post supperative otitis media | Grade I | 20 | |
| „ IIa | 7 | ||
| „ IIb | 2 | ||
| 29 | |||
| Suppurative otitis media (unknown origin) | „ I | 45 | |
| „ IIa | 15 | ||
| „ IIb | 10 | ||
| „ III | 4 | ||
| 74 | |||
| Suppurative otitis media (due to infectious disease) | „ I | 18 | |
| ,, IIa | 8 | ||
| „ IIb | 18 | ||
| „ III | 2 | ||
| 46 | |||
| Suppurative otitis media (due to other conditions) | „ I | 2 | |
| „ IIb | 3 | ||
| 5 | |||
| Middle ear catarrh (due to various causes) | „ I | 53 | |
| „ IIa | 9 | ||
| „ IIb | 10 | ||
| „ III | 1 | ||
| 73 | |||
| Suppurative otitis media and middle-ear catarrh | „ I | 8 | |
| „ IIa | 1 | ||
| „ IIb | 1 | ||
| 10 | |||
| Otosclerosis | I | 1 | |
| Wax | I | 1 | |
| Meningitis | „ III | 5 | |
| Nerve deafness due to injury | „ I | 1 | |
| „ IIb | 1 | ||
| „ III | 3 | ||
| 5 | |||
| Nerve deafness due to infectious fevers | „ IIb | 2 | |
| „ III | 3 | ||
| 5 | |||
| Maldevelopment | „ I | 1 | |
| Congenital syphilis | „ I | 1 | |
| „ IIb | 2 | ||
| „ III | 1 | ||
| 4 | |||
| Congenital cases. | |||
| True hereditary deafness | „ III | 6 | |
| Sporadic deaf birth | „ III | 24 | |
| Uncertain origin | „ I | 6 | |
| „ IIa | 1 | ||
| „ IIb | 8 | ||
| „ III | 2 | ||
| 17 |
There are 318 children in schools for the deaf, and 197 in those for the partially
deaf. During the year Mr. Wells made 751 examinations at these schools. As a
result, 1 child in a school for the deaf was found to be no longer certifiable as deaf,
and being over 14 years of age was allowed to leave school. Table 33 on page 56
gives particulars of the re-allocation of children already in attendance at special
schools.