ires
the examination of the eyes and ears of the school children in every
town and city, the state board of education furnishing the tests.[29] In
some states also general inspection of schools is mandatory by statute,
and in others permissive, while in several there are local ordinances
with the force of a state law.

In combating adventitious deafness, then, our attack is to be directed
in the largest part upon those diseases, especially infantile and
infectious diseases, that cause deafness; and it is upon the checking of
their spread that our main efforts for the present have to be
concentrated. At the same time the better safe-guarding of the general
health of the community will insure a proportionate diminution of
deafness. Beyond this, we will have to wait upon the developments of
medical science, both in the study of the prevention of diseases and of
their treatment; and can trust only to what it may offer.[30]

ADVENTITIOUS DEAFNESS AS AN INCREASING OR DECREASING PHENOMENON

Our main interest in the problem of adventitious deafness lies in the
possible discovery whether or not it is relatively increasing or
decreasing among the population, and in what respects signs appear of a
diminution. We have just seen the likelihood of a decrease from certain
causes; but we are to find what is indicated by statistical evidence.

To be considered first is adventitious deafness as a whole. Respecting
it our only statistics are in the returns of the censuses since 1880,
the different forms of deafness not being distinguished before this
time. The following table will show the number of the adventitiously
deaf as reported by the censuses of 1880, 1890 and 1900, with their
respective percentages and ratios per million of population.[31]

NUMBER OF THE ADVENTITIOUSLY DEAF IN 1880, 1890 AND 1900

TOTAL ADVENTITIOUSLY PERCENTAGE RATIO
NUMBER DEAF PER MILLION OF
POPULATION

1880 33,878 10,187 30.1 20.3
1890 40,562 16,767 41.1 26.8
1900 37,426 18,164 48.4 23.9

From this it appears that adventitious deafness is increasing in
relation to total deafness, which is most likely the case, as congenital
deafness, as we shall see, is evidently decreasing. Whether or not
adventitious deafness is increasing in respect to the general
population, the tabl