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Children with hearing defects attending ordinary schools and partially-hearing pre-school children
Arrangements are made for the regular supervision of these children, many of whom wear hearing
aids. For this purpose there are two full-time and one part-time peripatetic teachers of the deaf who
work incloseco-operation with Dr. Fisch, covering the London Borough of Haringey and the area outside
Haringey served by the Audiology Unit. The peripatetic teachers also pay regular visits to pre-school
age deaf and partially-hearing children in their homes or day nurseries for supervision and training.
Audiometry
Routine audiometric testing of school children is carried out by three full-time trained audiometricians,
the third of whom commenced duties towards the end of the year. The audiometricians now
combine vision screening in schools with audiometric duties.
Children who are due for medical inspection in school have a hearing test beforehand and the
audiographs of those who fail are made available to the school medical officer at the time of inspection
so that he or she can discuss the hearing-loss with the head teacher and follow-up with any further
investigation necessary. During school holidays special sessions are held at school clinics at which
an audiometrician is present with the medical officer. The standards for passing audiometry are set
purposely high, and of the 368 children who failed first routine tests in 1967, a very high proportion
were found to respond to simple measures or not to need treatment. The percentage of children who
fail 'special' tests was high, because these children had either been referred specially because
deafness was suspected or were already under treatment.
It is hoped that in future audiometry as well as vision screening will be carried out in schools
every two years independently of school medical inspections, and children who fail these screening
tests will be referred for further investigation.
Tables below give the numbers and results of audiometry tests during 1967:-