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62 '
To the School Medical Officer,
County Borough of East Ham,
Education Committee.
REPORT OF THE AURAL SURGEON FOR THE YEAR 1923.
During the year 318 cases have been seen, 164 Boys and
154 Girls. They made 805 visits to me and 3,011 visits to the
treatment Clinic. 107 cases were recommended for removal of
Tonsils and Adenoids.
Rather more than half the cases appear on the cards under
the diagnosis of "Deafness." The remainder appear as "Discharging
Ears." The latter, however, are also deaf, and many
of the former owe their deafness to a previous ear discharge.
Once an ear discharge has become chronic, treatment is of
importance chiefly from the point of view of lessening or abolishing
the discharge and preventing serious complications. Some
25 of these cases are recorded as showing " Marked improvement
in Hearing." Rarely, however, can treatment restore anything
like normal hearing.
In practically every child with deafness or ear discharge, the
trouble has started in the nose and throat as nasal obstruction,
whether due to Adenoids or to obstructed nasal passages, with
its resulting mouth breathing and nasal catarrh. It is at this
stage that efficient treatment has the best chance of yielding satisfactory
results. In other words, as far as the ear is concerned,
prevention is easier than cure, and consists in maintaining clear
nasal passages, free from obstruction, free from catarrh, free
mom infected Adenoids and Tonsils. It is comparatively rare to
find a child with a discharging ear who does not show sufficient
cause for this in the condition of the nose and throat.
It is not, however, the ear alone that is affected by the
presence of nasal catarrh and obstruction. The child's whole
growth and development, mental and physical, is adversely
affected even in cases where the ear escapes.
In conclusion, I wish to record my appreciation of the work
of the Sisters in charge of the Clinic and of the Clerk of the
Clinic and of the loyal and efficient way in which they have carried
out their duties.
GILBERT C. CHUBB, F.R.C.S. Eng., D.Sc., etc.