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14
There were not any cases of chronic ear discharge amongst
the pre-school age groups. This is exceedingly satisfactory and
bears out our repeated statements about the importance of early
and successful treatment of acute otorrhæa.
In both school and pre-school groups there were only 23 cases
of acute otorrhæa, or middle ear affection. Twenty-one of the
23 were discharged, cured, after a very short period of regular
daily treatment at the clinic.
In many of our previous reports we have stressed the importance
of the early, regular and correct technique of treatment in
these acute cases—important, in preventing the condition from
becoming chronic and thus developing complications,—with the
consequent delay and difficulty in securing final cure; and
equally important, to prevent impairment of the hearing. As is
well known, the longer the ear continues to 'run,' the greater
the damage to the hearing.
In connection with the presence of ear disease and hearing,
an audiometer survey of hearing of nearly all the school children
who had reached an age when they could write down simple single
numbers spoken from a "Voice" recorded, was carried out during
the year. This was the first complete ' hearing survey' since the
war years. Previously such surveys had been done. The results
of this survey are given separately in a special report which follows.
Those children who 'failed' the hearing tests and were found
to have impaired hearing were referred to the Aural Clinic for
detailed examination and treatment, where necessary. The number
of cases so referred was surprisingly small for a school population
of the size of Walthamstow. We can only conclude that the
regular systematic school medical inspections and the early detection
and prompt treatment of any middle ear defects found, or any
conditions such as nasal disease, predisposing to ear affection and
deafness, had a definite material influence in the production of
such a satisfactory hearing survey.
As in previous years, the largest group of cases requiring
treatment was made up of those children suffering from various
affections of the nose and throat. The only cases in this group
which required hospital treatment were those referred for the
removal of tonsils and adenoids. There were 19 of these diseased