H—44A

Hearing Aids Sectional Committee (Two meetings) Hearing-aids Technical Committee .. .. .. .. One meeting. Parent Committee. —At its two meetings the parent committee reviewed the New Zealand standard specification for valve-type hearing-aids in the light of comments offered by the interested parties as a result of initial experience of its use. After a thorough examination of these comments, the committee amended several of the technical provisions of the specification in order to improve the sensitivity of the microphone, enable proper amplification, reduce distortion and noise to the practicable minimum, and to ensure more efficient transduction by providing for correctly-fitting,, individually moulded, insertion-type ear-pieces. It also incorporated in the specification provisions equivalent to those contained in the guarantees usually given by reputable manufacturers, and amplified the marking requirements so as to ensure that purchasers would be supplied with all the necessary information concerning the nature of replacement parts and similar essential information. The Standard Mark on hearing-aids will therefore be a complete and reliable warranty concerning the quality of the component parts, the design of the sets, and their efficient performance. It will assist the hard-of-hearing to obtain hearing-aids which will afford them the greatest relief, and, in particular, will protect them against exploitation arising from the purchase of inefficient apparatus. That the standard specification is of equal value to reputable manufacturers is evidenced by the fact that, according to their own statements, most manufacturers base their production on the specification and intend to use the Standard Mark to certify that their sets conform to its requirements. Testing of Hearing-aids. —The committee also set up a special technical committee to draft a separate standard code of practice for the testing of hearing-aids for conformity with the technical provisions of the standard specification. At its first meeting the technical committee made good progress with this work. Chemical Sectional Committee (Two meetings) Fish-oils Committee .. .. .. .. ~ One meeting. Veterinary Oils Committee .. .. .. .. .. One meeting. Household Insecticides Committee .. .. .. .. One meeting. Insecticides Conference .. .. .. .. .. One meeting. Parent Committee. —During the year the parent committee considered 10 British standards, 10 draft British standards, 20 American standards, 3 Australian standards,. 2 South African'standards, and 2 Canadian standards. Of the British standards, 1 was recommended for adoption as a revision of a previous New Zealand standard specification. Another has been taken as the basis for an original New Zealand standard specification, 4 have been referred to other committees for attention, and 4 were deferred pending further circulation to affected interests. The parent committee also reviewed the reports of committees working under its direction. Joiners' Glue. —It has been recommended that N.Z.S.S. 184 for Joiners' Glue (being B.S. 745-1937) should be replaced by an original New Zealand emergency standard specification based upon the British standard but containing provisions more suitable to New Zealand, and, in particular, providing for the use of test slips made from New Zealand timber. Fish-liver Oils. —A special committee has completed the formulation of a standard specification for fish-liver oils suitable for human consumption. This standard specification provides a basis for the use of the Standard Mark as a reliable certification of the potency and quality of fish-liver oils. It will therefore be of valuable assistance to medical practitioners in prescribing preparations, and will benefit the consumer who obtains his vitamin requirements without a prescription. Variations in the vitamin

6