An alarmingly high 90 per cent of Aboriginal children in WA schools are estimated to have a hearing problem at any given time. And if they can't hear, their hopes of education and employment dramatically slide away.
Our partnership with Telethon Speech and Hearing is giving Indigenous children the opportunity to stay healthy and learn.
Telethon’s two mobile children’s ear clinics (Ear Buses) travel throughout Perth and the South West to conduct free hearing tests for Indigenous students.
The hearing test equipment (Tympanometers) is supplied by Chevron and accurately measures the function of the middle ear system. Middle ear infection is endemic in Aboriginal communities. On average, Aboriginal children have middle ear disease for more than two and a half years during their childhood. The equivalent figure for non-Aboriginal children is three months.
Middle ear infection can contribute to poor social and emotional outcomes and learning and behavioural problems. The mobile ear clinics provide a specialist service for this at-risk group by filling a void in effective primary health care and access to specialist services.