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Mental Condition.—.56 of the children examined were
found to be abnormally dull, and one case was actually defective.
The Medical Inspector is largely dependent on the
Teachers' reports in this part of his work unless the mentally
defective shows well-marked stigmata of his defect. A
number of cases are presented who are backward from
defective vision or hearing, and the treatment of these yields
satisfactory results. Other cases will be reported by the
Teachers to the School Medical Officer and examined at his
office, being dealt with according to the Model Arrangements
drawn up by the Board of Education under the Mental
Deficiency Act, 1913.
Condition of the Ears.—It has not been found possible,
with the conditions under which medical inspection is
performed, to adopt the forced whisper heard at 20 feet as a
standard. The most satisfactory method of testing the
hearing has been found for the examiner to be placed behind
and to one side of the child, and, while stopping an ear
with the finger, to test the hearing in the other by a question
whispered in a low tone. Even slight degrees of deafness
can thus be detected in the younger as well as older
children. By this means it was found that 1.7% of the
children examined had defective hearing. The most
common causes of deafness in children are:—
(1) Wax in the Outer Ear.—This is not such a simple
ailment as might appear, as the wax frequently overlies a
perforation in the drum of the ear. The routine syringing
of ears by untrained persons is not to be recommended, and
in any case should not be performed unless a thorough
examination with light and head-mirror has previously been
carried out by a doctor.
(2) Diseases in the Middle Ear.—This may either
result from (a) a simple catarrh due to obstruction from
adenoids, or this may lead to (b) suppuration, which causes