SURVEYS and studies have amply demonstrated that loss of hearing is an especially serious handicap to children. The "hard of hearing" child has difficulty (which neither he nor his associates understand) not only with his playmates and at home but especially at school. He may be thought careless, dull, headstrong or stubborn when he does not conform or fails or seems to refuse to follow directions. Depending on the degree of hearing loss, it is not unusual for a partially deafened child to be in school several years before the defect is recognized.
It was with these thoughts in mind, together with the more comprehensive idea of a full public health program for school children, that the health officer of Washington County (Maryland) determined to attempt to find and, if possible, cure remediable partial deafness in school children. Accordingly, in 1942 tentative plans were made for "an ear, nose and