Summary
Ear and hearing health is vital for overall health and quality of life. Ear disease and associated hearing loss can have long-lasting impacts on education, wellbeing and employment.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are more likely than non-Indigenous children to experience ear and hearing problems. A number of factors contribute towards the poorer ear and hearing health of Indigenous children, including lack of access to health services, household overcrowding and second-hand smoke exposure.
Over the last decade, the Australian Government has funded the Northern Territory Government to deliver hearing health outreach services to Indigenous children and young people aged under 21 in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment Hearing Health Program provides outreach audiology, ear, nose and throat (ENT) and Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) services.
This report presents new data for the Hearing Health Program for 2018. It focuses on services provided between July 2012 and December 2018 to produce time trends and track children and young people as they move through the program. Long-term analyses from 2007 to 2018 are also included. Throughout this report, you will find links to the supplementary tables related to the figures presented. Supplementary tables are available at the AIHW website.
How many children received services?
- In 2018, 1,922 outreach audiology services were provided to 1,751 children and young people.
- 717 ENT teleotology services were provided to 668 children and young people—approximately 150 fewer services than in 2017.
- Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS's) conducted 905 visits to 848 children—around 30 more services than in 2017.
- A total of 1,817 children and young people received at least 1 audiology, CNS or ENT teleotology service in 2018.
1. Introduction
- Why is ear and hearing health important?
- What is ear and hearing health?
- Impact of poor ear and hearing health
- Ear and hearing health in the Northern Territory
- Australian Government-funded Hearing Health Program in the Northern Territory
- How do children and young people move through the NT hearing health system?
- About this report
- About the data in this report
2. Service delivery
- Health education, promotion and prevention
- Outreach audiology
- ENT teleotology services
- Clinical Nurse Specialist services
3. Ear conditions and hearing health status
- Ear conditions
- Age and sex differences
- Short-term changes (2012–2018)
- Long-term changes (2007–2018)
- Ear conditions among CNS service recipients
- Hearing status
- Hearing loss
- Hearing impairment
- Changes over time in hearing loss and impairment
4. Demand for ear and hearing health services and other follow-up services
- Follow-up services required after audiologist visits
- Follow-up services required after ENT teleotology services
5. Outcomes of children after exiting the program
- Time spent in Hearing Health Program
- Changes over time in hearing health
- Further actions and recommendations
6. Regional analysis
- Hearing loss
- Hearing impairment
- Ear conditions
7. Progress against benchmarks
- Service delivery
- Health outcomes-hearing impairment
- Health outcomes-middle ear conditions
Appendixes:
Appendix A: About the Hearing Health Program data collections
Appendix B: Data quality statement
End matter: Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Symbols; Glossary; References; List of figures; List of tables; List of boxes