Ear infections causing perforation, discharge and deafness were very common especially in Māori children in isolated rural communities. In 1965, DRF initiated a programme based at Te Puia on the North Island’s east coast. With supervision from an ENT surgeon visiting from Auckland an enthusiastic local GP was provided with and taught to use a sophisticated microscope, observer side arm and suction, to treat children brought in from the wider area and to show their parents what was being done. Parents became enthused as the children’s ears which had been discharging mucus, dried up, their hearing improved and for most the ear drums healed. If that did not happen, the child was brought to Auckland for grafting of a dry hole with a heart valve cusp. The results were carefully recorded and astonishing.
The next challenge was to extend this effective treatment to children everywhere – to take the hospital into the community. In 1974, 1976 and 1977, with support initially from Rotary clubs and later from the Variety Club, caravans were similarly equipped, staffed with public health nurses, district nurses and volunteers, and towed to identified areas in rural Northland and suburban Auckland. Results with various treatment variations were carefully recorded and reported. From 1991, towed caravans were gradually replaced with motorised “mobile ear clinics” , the numbers grew and were deployed very widely.
From 1970, DRF also supported studies assessing high levels of ear disease in several of the Pacific islands and facilitated training and treatment programmes.
As the nature of the bacteria changed, discharging ears were replaced by glue ears with mucus behind intact drums causing hearing loss. DRF undertook several studies to determine which bacteria were responsible and how the problem is best dealt with.