“Maoris’ Troubles Linked With Defective Hearing”

Press, Volume C, Issue 29523, 26 May 1961, Page 12

“Maoris’ Troubles Linked With Defective Hearing”

The relatively high rate of delinquency and backwardness among Maoris might be closely linked with the high rate of defective hearing among them, Dr. A. C. Miller, director of the Auckland audiology unit and consultant otologist to the Department of Health, said in Christchurch yesterday.

“If a child has a hearing loss of which people are not aware, he is usually thought to be either a rebel or stupid,” said Dr. Miller. “If he is believed to be a rebel, he is punished, which is completely unfair. This applies to both Europeans and Maoris, but the Maoris have a higher rate of defective hearing. In some cases of which I have personal knowledge, Maori delinquency has been primarily because of hearing loss, and I am quite sure that the high delinquency among Maoris is partly because of poor hearing.

“I feel sure, too, that more Maoris would go forward to higher education If their general standard of hearing could be improved. If a child is partially deaf, how can he learn as he should?” Deaf Children •

The number of New Zealand children who were partially deaf was not generally realised, Dr. Miller said. In tests now made as a matter

of routine in many centres. 10 to 12 per cent, of the children were found to be suffering from some degree of hearing loss. Fortunately, only about 1 per cent, of the children had an incurable deafness, the conditions of the others being susceptible to treatment.

Up to quite recently, hei added, the prevalence of deafness among children and the possibility of its cure had not been fully realised. Children were at times sent to schools for the deaf for conditions which would not justify that, or were left in an ordinary class with little help for their deafness and often without it being recognised. Total deafness was almost unknown, as there was nearly always a certain amount of residual hearing even in a child bom deaf. With accurate instruments and techniques, the characteristics of this residual hearing could be measured and hearing-aids

“tailored”to fit the need. But satisfactory results could only be achieved when the person doing this work was an expert, and the Health Department did not yet have the means to train these experts "Engineer Needed”

What was needed above all was an acoustic engineer, familiar with all the modern electrical equipment that was used for the special testing of various aspects of hearing, including taking and analysing sound-levels, and testing the efficiency of hearingaids. One such engineer could train a relatively large number of technicians who would work under his guidance. An acoustic engineer had been recommended in the recently-presented interim report of the services ■for the deaf committee of the Board of Health, and the matter was now in the hands of the Minister. "We do our best with what we have, but we could do very much more at smaller cost in the end if the Government would sanction the appointment of a suitable man to take on this work," Dr. Miller said.