{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.030267753201396973, 'fraction_numerical': 0.01629802095459837, 'mean_word_length': 4.8108108108108105, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Ear and hearing disorders in rural grade 2 (Sub B) schoolchildren in the western Cape.

Four hundred and one children living in rural areas with a high level of poverty were assessed for ear and hearing disorders in their second year of schooling. Overall, only 40.3% of these children had both normal-appearing ear drums and normal hearing thresholds bilaterally; 14% had obstructing wax plugs; 17% had evidence of past acute otitis media with scarring or progression to chronicity--6% having perforations; 31% had middle-ear effusions and/or their sequelae; and 33% had some impairment of hearing but, if the effect of testing in the classroom environment is considered, there was probably only significant impairment in 9%. It is suggested that the prevalence of chronic ear disorders is a useful marker of the quality of primary care in rural communities.