20 December 2016

Aboriginal children and hearing loss

More than 40 per cent of urban Aboriginal children under eight
have significant ear problems and speech and language
impairments. The rate of ear disease and hearing loss among
Indigenous Australians is 10 times that of the non-Indigenous
population. Hearing infections left untreated can lead to
hearing loss, speech and language delays, and can severely
handicap their ability to thrive in school.

3 days left to tell your story

The Australian Parliaments House Standing Committee on
Health, Aged Care and Sport considers the social and
economic impacts of hearing impairment and ear or balance
disorder in its Inquiry into the Hearing Health and Wellbeing of
Australia.

Huge step for deaf community

For years parents have been lobbying for a formal curriculum
to be implemented in schools. The Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting Authority officially published the
first curriculum in Auslan on Monday.

Hearing services in Australia

The 70th anniversary of the establishment of the paediatric
hearing services program will be celebrated on 1 January
2017. Congratulations to Australian Hearing, which is highly
regarded internationally as the provider of high quality hearing
services, particularly to Deaf and hearing impaired children.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, community, sea, and waters where we live and work. We pay our respects to
elders past, present and future and value the contributions Indigenous Australians make in our society. We acknowledge the challenge for
Indigenous leaders and families to overcome the unacceptably high levels of ear health issues among first Australians.

HEALS program gives Aboriginal children access to

surgery, therapy for hearing loss
By Kate Aubusson
Latoya Terry couldn't understand why her toddler was ignoring her. When the mother-of-two
called her daughter, she would get no response.

Photo: Michael Amendolia

"I thought she wasn't listening to me," Ms Terry said. "Turns out she literally couldn't hear."
Like a disproportionately large number of Aboriginal children, Saraya had hearing loss brought on
by a severe middle ear infection (otitis media). Saraya, now five, had contracted ear infections
every couple of months for the first years of her life.
"They would be quite painful for her and she was on antibiotics a lot," said Ms Terry from Wagga
Wagga.
The run of infections meant Saraya didn't have her hearing tested until she was four, when she
was referred to a specialist. She needed grommets, tiny tubes inserted in the ear to help drain
fluid from the middle ear.
"Saraya knows she can't hear properly she'll say 'my ears, mum, I can't hear'" Ms Terry said.
Chief Executive at Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation in Campbelltown, Darryl Wright has seen firsthand families struggle to access services for ear disease.

"For me it was a big relief [to get a diagnosis]. I was going crazy not knowing."
More than 40 per cent of urban Aboriginal children under eight have significant ear problems and
speech and language impairments, according to the SEARCH study, the largest long-term analysis
of health and wellbeing among this demographic. The rate of ear disease and hearing loss among
Indigenous Australians is 10 times that of the non-Indigenous population. Hearing infections left
untreated can lead to hearing loss, speech and language delays, and can severely handicap their
ability to thrive in school.
Aboriginal families, even in Australia's capital cities, struggled to access care, and waiting lists for
speech therapists and surgery stretched into years, said Darryl Wright, the chief executive at
Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation in Campbelltown.
"I see first-hand the long-term impact of ear health problems and the struggles that families face
in accessing the services to address this issue in a timely manner," he said.
"When kids can't hear in school and can't properly participate in society, it creates all kinds of
problems.
"Their language skills don't develop as quickly, they don't sleep well, they have to take more time
off, they can misbehave and their education can fall behind."
But a NSW Health-funded program, the Hearing Ear Health And Language Services (HEALS), is
bridging the gap for Aboriginal families struggling to get their children's hearing problems
addressed.
HEALS has provided speech and language services and surgery to almost 800 urban Aboriginal
children since it was launched in 2013 in partnership with Aboriginal community controlled health
services, SAX Institute researchers and the state's hospitals.
"[HEALS] offers a model to help close the gap that has been shown to work," Mr Wright said. "It's
a good news story for improving urban Aboriginal child health."
Hearing problems among Aboriginal youth have been linked to the high Indigenous incarceration
rate in Australia.
"Their language skills don't develop as quickly, they don't sleep well, they have to take more time
off, they can misbehave and their education can fall behind," Mr Wright said.
"I'm sad, as an Aboriginal man, to see our kids are enduring the health stats of a Third World
nation."
About 94 per cent of Indigenous prisoners in the Northern Territory suffered impaired hearing,
compared with 45 per cent of the wider Indigenous population.

The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory
recently heard that six out of 10 boys at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre suffered hearing
impairment.
Indigenous ear, nose and throat surgeon Associate Professor Kelvin Kong said ear disease in
Australia was "diabolical". He has seen the consequences of allowing ear disease to fester for
decades. "The problem with ear disease in Australia is diabolical".

"I looked after a 40-year-old Aboriginal gentlemen who had maggots in his ears," he said. "He
was dishevelled, unemployed, he had been in and out of jail and he had maggots. In an urban
centre. We're not talking about out in some regional area. It's disgraceful. I wonder if we met
this gentleman when he was two years old and got him educated could he have avoided the
incarceration and the social injustices he endured."
The HEALS program allowed Aboriginal community controlled health organisations to accelerate
children in need of care through what can be a labyrinth of health services, waiting lists and
interventions.
"I look after so many kids with these kinds of issue and, when you correct the learning deficit, the
parents are so thankful, the kids smile and it's the most rewarding thing about my job," Dr Kong
said.
The program fully funded six months of weekly speech and language therapy for Saraya, a service
Ms Terry would not have been able to afford.
"She has completely lost her lisp," Ms Terry said. "She's been able to do really well at school
because we've put that work in. It's why she has improved so much."
The Sydney Morning Herald, http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/heals-program-gives-aboriginal-childrenaccess-to-surgery-therapy-for-hearing-loss-20161215-gtbsqr.html

3 days left to tell your story: Government inquiry

into the Hearing Health and Wellbeing of Australia
The Australian Parliaments House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport will be
considering the social and economic impacts of hearing impairment and ear or balance disorder in
its Inquiry into the Hearing Health and Wellbeing of Australia.
Guidance on preparing a submission can be found at http://breakthesoundbarrier.org.au/nationalinquiry-hearing-health-wellbeing/
Submissions should be received by the close of business 23 December 2016.

Auslan national curriculum for Australian schools

hailed as 'huge step' for deaf community
By Stephanie Dalzell
The first national curriculum for Auslan, the language of the deaf community in Australia, will soon
be rolled out in schools across Australia, in a move being described as a "huge step for equality".
Since it was officially recognised as a language by the Federal Government in 1987, the use of
Auslan for deaf children in Australian schools has been largely inconsistent, with teachers forced
to rely on a general framework for languages such as Japanese and French.
For years parents have been lobbying for a formal curriculum to be implemented in schools.
Following ministerial endorsement, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
(ACARA) officially published the first curriculum in Auslan on Monday.

"That's a fantastic achievement for us, it's an opportunity for the signing community to have a
curriculum in schools, an opportunity for young deaf students to learn about that," ACARA chief
executive Rob Randall said.
Dr Breda Carty, from the Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) Renwick Centre, was
involved in writing the curriculum.
She described the introduction of the new guidelines as a "wonderful development".
"Certainly for the Australian deaf community, it's significant, it's a huge step for equality, it's a
wonderful feeling that our language is now included in the school curriculum," she said.

A group of children watch on as Louise de Beuzeville teaches them sign language.

The curriculum will also give hearing students the opportunity to learn Auslan, allowing them to
communicate with their deaf peers.
Rima Akanj, 16, who attends the RIDBC Thomas Pattison School in Sydney, said it would
significantly improve the social skills of deaf students. "In hearing world there are few deaf
people scattered around and a lot of hearing people having conversations, and deaf people have
no idea what's going on because it's a spoken language and deaf people don't have the access,"
she said.
"They feel a bit of a deficit with that, so they feel less confident, maybe a bit depressed, so when
there's Auslan being used everywhere deaf people are more confident, they're more involved,
they feel they have equal access."
Dr Carty said the introduction of a curriculum was especially momentous given deaf people were
cruelly tormented for using sign language in years past.
ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-19/deaf-community-hails-school-rollout-ofauslan-curriculum/8132474

Hearing services in Australia

The National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) grew from an organisation known as the Acoustic
Testing Laboratories (ATL) which was established by the National Health and Medical Research
Council in 1943 and became the Acoustic Research Laboratory (ARL) in 1944. This small, wartime
organisation was replaced in 1947 by the Commonwealth Acoustic Laboratories (CAL) which had
an extended research function and a new service delivery function of providing hearing services to
children and war veterans.
During the 1950s and 1960s, CALs hearing services were extended to several other groups,
notably age pensioners who had an entitlement to free medical services. The name of the
organisation was changed to National Acoustic Laboratories in 1973.
NAL became a Statutory Authority in 1992 with its General Manager reporting through a Board of
Directors to the Minister for Aged, Family and Health Services. At this time, the organisation was
renamed Australian Hearing Services (AHS). The organisation now operates as Australian Hearing
but NAL has been retained to designate the research and development division.
The 70th anniversary of the establishment of the paediatric hearing services program will be
celebrated on 1 January 2017. Congratulations to Australian Hearing, which is highly regarded
internationally as the provider of high quality hearing services, particularly to Deaf and hearing
impaired children.

Timeline of the history of the Australian Government Hearing Services Program

1944 The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) established the Acoustic
Research Laboratory (ARL) to investigate the effects of noise on military personnel.
1947 ARLs role was expanded to include the assessment and rehabilitation of children affected
by the rubella epidemics of 1939-1941.
1948 The then Department of Health was given responsibility for the ARL renaming it the
Commonwealth Acoustic Laboratories (CAL). The then program began providing services to
returning World War II veterans and school children.
1968 The program was expanded to include social security pensioners.
1973 CAL was renamed the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL).
1991 The Australian Hearing Services Act 1991 came into effect. Australian Hearing Services
(AHS) was established as a Commonwealth Government Statutory Authority. NAL was retained as
a research division of AHS.

1996 The Government announced changes to improve choice for consumers, increased
competition between service providers (AHS and private) and between manufacturers of hearing
devices resulting in greater cost-effectiveness of the Hearing Services Program.
1997 The Hearing Services Administration Act 1997 came into effect and the Office of Hearing
Services (the Office) was formally established within the then Department of Health and Family
Services to administer the voucher system and accredit providers of hearing services.
1997 The Community Service Obligations (CSO) component of the program is administered by
the Office, and contracted to Australian Hearing Services to deliver to eligible groups.
2007 The Office was provided with funding for research into prevention activities to address the
burden of avoidable hearing loss in Australia. The Hearing Loss Prevention Program (HLPP)
grants are administered by the NHMRC.
2009 A Senate Inquiry into hearing services was announced in September 2009. The Committee
tabled its report Hear Us: Inquiry into Hearing Health in Australia in Parliament on 13 May 2010.
The Government presented its response to the recommendations contained in the Senate report,
on 30 May 2011.
2010 Introduction of a Minimum Hearing Loss Threshold (MHLT), defining the minimum hearing
loss required before a client of the program is fitted with a hearing device.
2012 Key reforms to the program commenced on 1 January 2012. All new and return vouchers
issued after 1 January 2012 are valid for three years instead of two and the CSO component of
the program was expanded to include access to hearing services for eligible young adults aged
21-25 years inclusive.
2013 As part of the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) on 1 July
2013, the Government agreed to transition existing Commonwealth program providing support to
people with a disability to the NDIS. The Australian Government Hearing Services Program was
included as one of these program, and will transition (in part) through an ongoing process to the
NDIS by 2019-2020.
2014 The Office introduced an online portal to support the voucher component of the Australian
Government Hearing Services Program. The portal provides faster access to the program for
eligible clients, and enables hearing service providers to manage their client and site information
more efficiently, without requiring the Office to do this on their behalf.
http://www.hearingservices.gov.au/wps/portal/hso/site/about/whoarewe/history/!ut/p/a1/nZFLU4MwFIX_ii5YZhJCoOmS6QOhFsax
KmTTCa8SLYTS1JZ_b5ixS9F6d7k59-TkfpDBGLKGf4odV0I2fD-cmbNdPdmO6SO8oq_RErluPIYLAlGEYJvkEGWNapVFUyqo7zLZKOKRhmoPaV7kRmoknVhIJ7Kk26eK8m74qwblTgq2fXDeJuJHCZFiS2rzAnIc0wBIYUNOHEskDoTPK
V5ScyU6DyJzoN-KBf9Ke6IBNnfgpEnEp1hssV07j5MielHC3-B3Jm3CTzqY29uwcbPzVuuEE3Gwa_rUGvEXfr2XqnbbmqgGhKCeMrHBhf4WideD8cmKsZD1wvSt_9A3Jb19TqwUcZhoCntL_Yyf0Xi7C5XA!!/dl5/d5/L2dBIS
EvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

Planning to question someone who is deaf

Effective communication is essential in the legal process. The handling and questioning of
vulnerable witnesses and defendants is a specialist skill.
Advocates must ensure that they are suitably trained and that they adhere to their professional
conduct rules.
The court must take every reasonable step to facilitate the participation of any person, including
the defendant. Courts are expected to make reasonable adjustments to remove barriers for
people with disabilities
An information kit prepared by The Advocates Gateway in the UK brings together policy, research
and guidance relating to deaf witnesses.

Deaf people are as diverse as hearing people and no two people who are deaf will have exactly
the same profile of strengths and needs.

Information about the individual is essential and, if not supplied, must be requested.

Assessment should be considered in order to advise the court of a deaf persons

communication needs and any adaptation to process which is required.

The guidance pertains to both deaf adults and children, with even greater care needed in the
case of deaf children, where specialist expertise in this field is essential.

Even deaf witnesses with severe learning disability have given evidence effectively with
appropriate assistance.

Download the information kit from

http://www.theadvocatesgateway.org/images/toolkits/11planningtoquestionsomeonewhoisdeaf100714.pdf

5 ways to improve your balance & clarity

1. Sleep more. Not less.
Your brain may need more sleep than usual, especially if you have a vestibular injury, migraine or
anxiety condition. Learn strategies that reduce your reliance on sleeping medications.
Experiment with different tricks, find ones that work for you. Learning sleep skills is a large part
of vestibular rehabilitation.

2. Stay supported
Get the social and emotional support you need to feel at ease. Worries and chronic stress delay
our neural recovery (the science is out on this one). The brain needs to feel at ease in order to
build new balance pathways. Stress is a natural part of the dizzy process make sure you learn
HOW to bounce back and feel truly supported. We will all experience stress. Learn how to ease
into it. There are oodles of strategies.

3. Drink water, stay hydrated

Our senses need water to operate. Without hydration, we can feel foggy, fuzzy and drained.
Drink before you feel thirsty. Drink often. This is nice and simple.

4. Commit to your recovery daily

Do your balance exercises. Stay supported. Make sure your balance exercises are unique to you
and your condition. Take note of your progress, no matter how small. Engage in the
neuroplasticity process. Have an action plan and someone to share the journey with. Be
accountable. On that note: Dont over-medicate. Make sure your specialists are in communication
with each other. Drug interactions can impact on our ability to think clearly. Be informed. Aim to
reduce medications if it is safe to do so, as you develop new balance pathways or filter settings
in your balance brain.

5. Seek activities that fill you with joy

Do those activities. Do them often. Daily. Offer yourself kindness when you feel tender. Keep
going and keep doing things that make you feel like the person you want to be. This keeps you
active, builds new balance pathways and injects you with vigour.
From Whirled Foundation info@whirledfoundation.org www.whirledfoundation.org
Whirled Foundation is a voluntary non-profit member organisation dedicated to helping individuals
experiencing vertigo, chronic imbalance and dizziness problems.

9th Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening

Conference: Firm Foundations, Wide Horizons
May 19 and 20, 2017
The Langham, Melbourne
Call for papers opens soon, with a submission deadline of February 14 2017.
Conference themes
The two sides of care: clinician well-being when working with infants and their families
Utilising the systems and infrastructure of screening programs for innovation, research
and efficiency
Quality improvement along the newborn hearing screening pathway
Improving outcomes for children through early detection and intervention
Innovation and frontier advances for children with hearing loss
The conference invites the following types of submissions:
Oral presentations (20 minutes)*
Poster presentations (posters visible throughout duration of conference)
Workshops (60 minutes; submissions for workshops will require an outline of the
learning objectives and the nature of the workshops learning tasks)
*Oral presentations may be grouped together by the scientific committee to form a symposium if topics allow.
Suggestions for proposed symposia can be made by authors when submitting abstracts.

Australasian Newborn Hearing Screening Committee

A subcommittee of Deafness Forum of Australia

http://www.newbornhearingscreening.com.au/

www.breakthesoundbarrier.org.au

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