The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released data that shows that almost 1,3000 children were referred for hearing health services as part of the child health checks in Northern Territory, with nearly 70 per cent of children receiving follow up services.

 

Over 1,600 children in the Northern Territory also received an ear, nose and throat (ENT) referral during the health checks, and 73% went on to receive the service for which they were referred.

 

However, the average waiting time between referral and service was 14.3 months for audiology services and 24.5 months for ENT services.

 

The report, Ear and hearing health of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory, provides data from the Australian Government-funded follow-up ear and hearing health services delivered through the Child Health Check Initiative (CHCI) and the Closing the Gap program under the Northern Territory National Partnership Agreement.

 

‘The good news is that many children experienced improvements after initially receiving the services—among those who had two or more audiology or ENT services. About 56%of the children who had hearing impairment at their first audiology check experienced improvements. In addition, there was a 15% decline in the proportion with middle ear conditions and 9% decline in hearing loss,’ Author of the report Dr Indarni Pieris-Caldwell said.

 

Download the Ear and hearing health of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory