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25
DEAF AND PARTIALLY HEARING CHILDREN - AUDIOLOGY CLINIC
1964 was a busy year for the Audiology Clinic, the scope of
its work widened to provide a monthly clinic, in conjunction
with Dr. Morgan, for the early ascertainment of deafness in very
young babies known to be 'at risk' . During the year, 64 babies
were seen and 3 were found to be severely deaf.
All cases recommended for hearing aids, were seen either by
Mr. Parsons or Mr. Stewart, the Corporation's Consultant
Otologists, who held regular sessions at the Audiology Clinic.
It was necessary to hold 3 extra sessions during the year to
keep pace with the number of outstanding cases. 89 children were
seen and 17 hearing aids recommended, 14 of these were the
National Health Service "Medresco" aids and the other 3, commercial
aids paid for by the Corporation. Commercial aids are
needed if the hearing loss is very severe, or if there is a
sharp perceptive loss in the higher frequencies. The Medresco
aid has no automatic volume control and cannot be tolerated by
children with such a loss, as the hearing for low tones is often
normal and a general amplification of sound soon becomes painfuL
There was a sharp increase in the number of severely deaf
pre-school children. 11 new cases were discovered and in each
case a hearing aid and auditory training were recommended. It is
interesting to note that 6 of the cases could be related to the
1962 Rubella outbreak.
During the year, Mrs. Roberts, the part-time audiometrician,
visited all infant schools at least twice during the year and
apart from absentees and unco-operative children, (318), all
children newly admitted to school during the year were tested.
Of the 4,383 children tested, 473 (approx. 11%), failed the test
and were referred to the Audiology Clinic for further assessment.
For further statistical details, see Appendix G Page 53.