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(d) Ear Disease and Defective Hearing.
The number of children seen by Dr. Friel at the Ear Clinic
during the year was 184, of whom 132 were cases seen for the first
time. Thirty-three of these children were treated for otorrhoea,
and of this number twenty were cured, six still under treatment
at the end of the year, two referred to hospital for operative treatment,
and five ceased to attend before treatment was completed.
In addition to these a large number of children were treated for
defects of hearing due to catarrh of the middle ear, chronic nasal
catarrh and nasal obstruction, with very satisfactory results. The
total attendances at the Ear Clinic during the year were 497.
(e) Dental Defects.
The work done by the School Dental Surgeon is set out in
detail in Table Y. The scheme of dental inspection embraces
practically the whole elementary school population, and dental
treatment is available for every child during his elementary school
life. The main endeavour is to concentrate, as far as possible, on
conservative treatment and to discourage the casual case which
wishes to attend only when the teeth are actually causing pain or
discomfort. The ratio of fillings to extractions in permanent teeth
remains very high, 2,798 fillings to 532 extractions, while in
temporary teeth very few fillings have been done and many
extractions.
(/) Defects of Speech.
The Speech Defect Clinic deals with children suffering from
stammering and other defects of speech. Two classes are held, one
for children of twelve years and over and one for children under
twelve, and each class is held twice weekly. The classes are limited
to eight children each, so that individual attention may be given.
Progress in most cases is slow, but on the whole the results are
very good, and in many cases complete cure of the defect is obtained.
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