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Audiology Unit.
The detection and assessment of deafness in a very young child is no easy matter,
and it is only in recent years that specialist techniques have been developed at certain
centres. Prior to May 1955, babies and pre-school children from West Ham had been referred
to the Audiology Unit of the Royal National Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Gray's Inn Road,
W.C.l. where a great deal of help was given in assessing the extent of hearing defect, and
in subsequent training; sometimes with the assistance of a hearing aid. Experience has
shown that much help can be given even to very young infants, mainly by teaching the mother
to make the most of any available hearing' and to train her baby to listen. If this can be
done before the age at which speech normally develops, then the chance of eventually
achieving good speech is greatly increased.'
Because of long waiting lists and of the inconvenience and expense caused to mothers
in keeping appointments at Gray's Inn Road, and with the encouragement of the Director of
the Unit, the West Ham Council was recommended to establish its own centre staffed by its
own existing personnel.
An Audiology Team was formed and a centre for children under five was established
at Maybury Road Maternity and Child Welfare Centre, Plaistow, in May of this year. The
staff consists of two health visitors who have received special training, the head teacher
of the West Ham School for the Deaf and the Audlometrieian. The Director of the Unit is
Mr.C.J.Scott, consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon of Whipps Cross Hospital whose
services were already available to the West Ham Specialist Clinics. The services of the
Educational Psychologist are available as required, and the administration of the centre
is under the guidance of the Senior Assistant Medical Officer for Maternity and Child
Welfare. The centre is open approximately once a month on Tuesday mornings, the intervals
being varied to meet the needs. The main objectives of the centre are (a) early detection
of deafness or impaired hearing and (b) auditory training to develop hearing and speech.
In the case of infants, this is largely given through the mother. For children over two
years of age considered to be deaf, ascertainment is carried out and the child's name put
on the waiting list for the School for the Deaf, If the child is partially deaf, training
and guidance, where necessary, are given at the clinic or in the child's home. In the
occasional difficult case the child may be asked to attend the School for the Deaf for
observation over a whole day.
The staff of the centre work as a team and in close association with the Regional
Hospital Board operating within the framework of the School Health Service and with the
West Ham School for the Deaf. The Audiology Unit is still in the process of developing
its techniques and co-ordinating the team work of its staff, and has not yet necessarily
reached a settled routine. It seems reasonable to hope that with early diagnosis and
auditory training and with the help of a suitable hearing aid, it may be possible for
some children with defective hearing to be educated in an ordinary rather than a special
school, thus giving the child the advantages of a more normal environment.
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