RESULTS OF THE WORLD'S FAIR HEARING TESTS 



547 



age. The table gives the average difference between corresponding 

 age groups in the age range from 10 to 49. A similar difference was 

 not found among the men nor among the corresponding groups at 



San Francisco. 



TABLE 8 



The differences just discussed are small enough so that the average 

 hearing values computed from all the data will not be critically de- 

 pendent on the weight assigned to the various geographical groups. 

 On the other hand, some of the differences are large enough to suggest 

 that a more efficient segregation into geographical groups, taking 

 account of past as well as present place of residence, might uncover 

 some substantial differences in hearing. 



Personal Characteristics 

 An attempt was made to determine the relation to hearing acuity 

 of several such factors as economic status, intelligence, and general 

 appearance. This was done by observing individuals at the New 

 York Fair as they submitted their test blanks for the photographic 

 record. Some ten or fifteen seconds of observation were usually 

 available, and the individual was classed as below, average, or above 

 in respect to the characteristic being studied. Although separate 

 estimates were attempted for each of the three characteristics named 

 above, it was concluded that in each case the same thing was being 

 estimated, namely general personal appearance. Accordingly all the 

 data were combined. Table 9 summarizes the findings. Each figure 

 is the mean of the mean hearing losses for the age groups below 50. 



TABLE 9 

 Variation of Mean Hearing Loss with Personal Appearance 



