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Summary of Audiometrieian's work carried out during the period from 17.4.50
to 28.10.52.
No. of children tested-16,200 between ages of 8 and 15 years
(A few 7 year olds were included)
No, of children retested 2,638. Among these were 57 were were
already under treatment at the E.N.T.
Clinic. Of the 2,638 retested children,
205 were referred to the medical officer
for further investigations.
Of these, 67 were referred to the E.N.T. Specialist, and were
classified as follows
Middle ear deafness 37
Catarrhal deafness 16
Familial deafness 8
Nerve deafness 1
Traumatic deafness 1
Deafness not confirmed 4
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The methodical testing of school children by gramophone audiometer ceased in November,
1952, when the audiometrieian resigned.
In the autumn of 1954 a school nurse was given training in gramophone
audiometry, and for the last two months of 1954 and the whole of 1955 devoted four
weekly sessions to audiometric work in schools.
Early in 1955 an audiometrieian was appointed to work approximately half her
time with the local authority; the remainder being divided between the three
neighbouring Hospital Management Committees. Her knowledge of pure tone audiometry
was now available to help the otologists in the hospitals and local authority E.N.T.
clinics, and for the children in the School for the Deaf and the Spastic Unit, and
for other individual children. It was not until 1957 that the audiometric screening
of children by pure tone sweep method was substituted for the gramophone audiometric
testing.
During 1955 and 1956 a complete audiometric survey of children aged 8+ to 10+
was made, the specially trained school nurse and the audiometrieian each having a share
in this work. At the end of this survey the school nurse did not undertake any further
audiometry, but her services had enabled audiometric testing to be continued over a
different period, when no audiometrieian was available.
During 1957 and 1958 primary school children aged 6+ and 10+ were tested by
the pure tone method. The results of these surveys are shown in Table A, while Table
B gives the result of a preliminary analysis of the conditions found in the children
referred from the audiometrieian to the school medical officer.
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