vr SPECIAL POPULATIONS 401377 re Hearing Loss and Middle-Ear — Abnormalities in a Group of Marshallese Children By MARC LERNER, SHARON FUJIKAWA, & WILLIAM H. ADAMS fi Tos Fe eR, gael Bert ae a eae Seeae eeeeetRenae nenee nee Si caeteiienteeteerrnereenas As ie SsRRS a (\t) . a A i L ft 1 Hh i a} a ft i nder contract to the United States Department of Energy, medical tears directed by New York’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have conducted an observation, in a unique fashion, of the health of a groupof chil- dren in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Previous publications have noted a large numberof ear problems among children from Micronesia,’*? but no study to date had used audiometry and impedance measurements to document that information. Asa part of a visit to medical team from Brookhaven National Laboratory tested the hearing and eardrum impedanceof a group ofproject children. With the growing recognition of the importance of hearing to the developmentof languageskills and learnIng Capacity, such testing was seen as and the Mariana Islands make up the Pacific archipelago of Micronesia. Currently, medical care on mostatolls is administered by resident health aides whoare provided by the Governmentof the Republic of the Marshall Islands Health Services. A combination of mobile and stationary units house the healthcare facilities. More in-depth medical care for children on someatolls is provided by physicians of the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the tered over 300,000 square miles of ocean. There are 35,000 inhabitants of the Marshalls. A primary population concentration—some 8000 persons—is on the island of Ebeye, a part of the Kwajalein atoll. Another 15,000 live on the Majuro atoll. The Marshall Islands, the Caroline, government of the Marshall Islands via stationary sites and a medically equipped ship. oo ormPacihe Ucean SAN. FRANCISCO Marc Lerner, MD, FAAP is Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Medical Director of Neonatal Clinics, University of California/Irvine. Sharon Fujikawa, PhD, CCCis Assistant Adjunct Professor, Department of Neonatology, Division of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and Director of the Audiology Clinic, University of California/ Irvine. William H. Adams, MD is with the Brookhaven National Laboratory a ee Medical Department, Upton, NY. CorTéspondence to Dr. Lerner, Department of Pediatrics, University of California/ Irvine Medical Center, Route 81, 101 The City Drive South, Orange, CA 92668. VOL. 42 NO. 8 SGP 2885 5 a ve he the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a important in understanding the possible vulnerability of those children. The Republic of the Marshall Islands consists of 29 coral atolls and five mountain-top islands located in the Pacific Ocean approximately 2500 miles southwest of Hawaii. The small islands total a mere 70 square milesof land scat- . 4 ye % Lowe . * ae | . ~= -- Tate Geographic representation of the location of the Marshall Islands. THE HEARING JOURNAL/AUGUST1989 21 al i 4 a