Follow-up studies of aboriginal children with ear disease and hearing loss at Cherbourg (Queensland).
A random sample of 100 Aboriginal primary school children originally examined in February, 1970, was followed up in February, 1971, and February, 1972. Over this period, the incidence of hearing loss dropped from 41% to 23%. Most of the improvement occurred in the younger children, and, while this could be attributed to treatment in a few cases, the majority of children appeared to improve spontaneously. A complete school grade of 37 children aged six years in 1970 was retested six times over a period of three years. Again, there was a general improvement, from 60% incidence of hearing loss in 1970 to 22% in 1972. Most of this improvement was spontaneous. During the three years of observation (1970, 1971, 1972), 30 Aboriginal children from Cherbourg underwent surgery including myringotomy, myringoplasty and mastoidectomy. Operative successes and failures in these children are discussed.