20July2016

Evidence of hearing damage in teens

New research into the ringing-ear condition known as tinnitus
indicates an alarming level of early, permanent hearing damage in
young people who are exposed to loud music.

Hearing health and clean water

One in eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported
ear and/or hearing problems. This is significantly more than nonindigenous people.

App makes smartphones accessible for

deafblind people
The nations first purpose-built mobile captioning app turns any
iPad or iPhone into an accessible phone for people who are deaf
and blind or have low vision.

Hearing health care priorities for improving

access and affordability
Key institutional, technological, and regulatory changes that would
enable US consumers to find and fully use the appropriate,
affordable, and high-quality services, technologies, and supports
they need.

Hearing Awareness Week

Starts Sunday 21 August
www.hearingawarenessweek.org.au

We acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea and
community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present. We acknowledge the
challenge that faces Indigenous leaders and families to overcome the unacceptably high levels of ear health issues among first
Australians.

Who leads hearing health & wellbeing in the

new Government?
PM Malcolm Turnbulls post-election team
Christian Porter was reappointed this week to the role of Minister for Social Services.
He will oversee Australian government social services,
including mental health, families and children's policy,
and support for carers and people with disabilities, and
seniors.
He holds a Bachelor of Economics, a Bachelor of Arts
in Political Science and a Bachelor of Laws from the
University of Western Australia, as well as a Master of
Science (Political Theory) from the London School of
Economics.
Prior to politics, he worked as a lawyer in both the
commercial and government settings. Immediately
before entering Federal Parliament, he was the
Professor of Law at Curtin University.

Jane Prentice was reappointed as the Assistant Minister for Disability Services.
She was elected to the House of Representatives for
the Federal Seat of Ryan in 2010.
She was appointed Assistant Minister for Disability
Services in early 2016.
Prior to her election to Federal Parliament, she served
for 10 years as councillor for the Brisbane City Council
ward of Walter Taylor.
Before entering public life, she owned and managed a
successful convention and event management firm
and was responsible for organising many of
Queenslands largest events.

Senator Zed Seselja will be Assistant Minister for Social Services and Multicultural Affairs.
The Canberra-based senator is the first ACT Liberal to be given a ministry.
Zdenko Matthew "Zed" Seselja was elected to the
Australian Senate as a representative of the ACT in
2013. Before this he was a member of the ACT
Legislative Assembly from 2004.
Before the recent election he identified welfare
dependency as a significant issue, and as a major
drain on the federal budget.
He studied Arts and Law at the Australian National
University and then moved into the Commonwealth
Public Service, where he rose to become a Senior
Lawyer.

Sussan Ley was reappointed as Minister for Health, Aged Care and Sport.
She is responsible for national health and medical
research policy. The minister provides direction and
oversight of the Department of Health.
The Hearing Services Program is managed by the
Office of Hearing Services, a unit of the Department of
Health.
Ms Ley was promoted to health minister in late 2014.
Before entering Parliament, she worked a variety of
jobs which provided a range of real life experiences
including as an air traffic controller, commercial pilot,
wool and beef farmer, and in a senior position with the Australian Taxation Office.
She holds a Bachelor of Economics, Master of Taxation Law and a Master of Accounting.

Evidence of hearing damage in teens

New research into the ringing-ear condition known as tinnitus indicates an alarming level of
early, permanent hearing damage in young people who are exposed to loud music,
prompting a warning from a leading Canadian researcher in the field.
"It's a growing problem and I think it's going to get worse," says Larry Roberts of
McMaster's Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour.
The researchers interviewed and performed detailed hearing tests on a group of 170
students between 11 and 17 years old, learning that almost all of them engage in "risky
listening habits" -- at parties, clubs and on personal listening devices -- and that more than
a quarter of them are already experiencing chronic, persistent tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing
in the ears that more typically affects people over 50.
Further testing of the same subjects -- all students at the same school in So Paulo, Brazil - showed that even though they could still hear as well as their peers, those experiencing
tinnitus were more likely to have a significantly reduced tolerance for loud noise, which is
considered a sign of hidden permanent damage to the nerves that are used in processing
sound, damage that can foretell serious hearing impairment later in life.
Roberts explained that when the auditory nerves are damaged, brain cells increase their
sensitivity to their remaining inputs, which can make ordinary sounds seem louder.
Increased loudness perception is an indication of nerve injury that cannot be detected by
the audiogram, the standard clinical test for hearing ability. Neuroscience research
indicates that such "hidden hearing loss" caused by exposure to loud sounds in the early
years deepens over the life span, worsening one's hearing ability later in life.
More from SCIENCE DAILY, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160606081703.htm

Hearing health and clean water

Nations gathered in New York this week to discuss the UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), which aim to improve health, wealth and well-being for countries both rich and
poor.
As a developed nation, it might be assumed that Australia will easily meet these new goals
at home including goal number 6, to ensure availability and sustainable management of
water and sanitation for all. But the unpalatable truth is that many Australians still lack
access to clean water and effective sanitation.
The World Banks Development Indicators list Australia as having 100% access to clean
water and effective sanitation. But a discussion paper outlines how some remote
Aboriginal communities struggle to meet Australian water standards.
Making water safe
High standards of health and well-being are unattainable without safe, clean drinking
water, removal of toilet waste from the local environment, and healthy hygiene behaviours.
The Western Australian government has reported that drinking water in some remote
communities is contaminated with uranium, faecal bacteria and nitrates above the
recommended levels. This contamination combined with problems such as irregular
washing of faces, hands and bodies (often without soap), and overcrowding in homes
means that residents in these communities suffer from water- and hygiene-related health
problems at a higher rate than the general Australian population.
Cleaning faces can break the link with long-term ear and eye health impacts such as
trachoma and deafness.
Glue ear, which is influenced by poor water and hygiene practices and can cause
permanent hearing loss and developmental difficulties, is prominent in these communities.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that one in eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people reported ear and/or hearing problems in 2012-13. This is significantly
more than non-Indigenous people.
Installing properly managed community swimming pools can provide a community-wide
(and enjoyable) amenity that will also contribute to preventing glue ear, trachoma and
other hygiene-related infections.
Community swimming pools have been found to be the best way to ensure clean skin and
prevent the spread of neglected tropical diseases.
More at The Conversation, http://theconversation.com/its-a-fallacy-that-all-australians-haveaccess-to-clean-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-61436

Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford is risking permanent hearing

damage to his left ear by continuing to compete, the British athlete has said,
adding that the threat will not deter him from defending his title in Rio.
The 29-year-old pulled out of last month's British Championships after suffering whiplash at
the Birmingham Diamond League meeting, which has since caused a severe ear disorder
called cochlear hydrops.
The world champion said that he had a 25 percent chance of not fully recovering his
hearing but hoped the condition would not affect his jumping.
"I knew I shouldn't have jumped in Birmingham because I felt really stiff," Rutherford told
British media.
"If the room falls silent for a moment all I hear is loud white noise, so it's been a struggle
to sleep. I've gone from hearing in stereo to mono.
"Hopefully it (normal hearing) will come back but there's a one in four chance it never will
fully recover, according to the doctor."
Rutherford will defend his European title at Amsterdam this week and the Milton Keynesborn athlete added that he would have considered taking time off to recover in any other
year.
"I hope it won't affect my jumping but it's certainly not fun," he added.
From EUROSPORT http://au.eurosport.com/athletics/long-jump-champion-rutherford-riskshearing-loss_sto5676218/story.shtml

Celebrate
Hearing
Awareness
Macquarie University Open Day

Week

at

Being able to communicate with others is a fundamental human pursuit. Come and explore
the world of hearing by participating in a hearing screening and learning about new
technology. You'll also learn about Hearing Awareness Week and hearing loss prevention,
and have the opportunity to find out about the Australian Hearing Hub which is located on
campus.
At Macquarie University Open Day people 16 years and older have the opportunity to get
their hearing checked.
20 August 2016, 10am 3pm. Located at Outside 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Avenue
(E7B)

Healthdirect
Healthdirect is a free service supported by Australian governments. It provides practical
advice and resources, and finding support services. http://www.healthdirect.gov.au/hearing-loss

App Makes Your Smartphone Accessible For

Deafblind People

New statistics show 45 per cent of us believe we cant live without our mobiles,
and 63 per cent need our phones to juggle work and personal life. But not all Australians
have equal access to mobile technology.
The nations first purpose-built mobile captioning app has been launched. The new app,
called OpenAccess Captions, turns any iPad or iPhone into an accessible phone for people
who are deaf and blind or have low vision.
Developed by the Brisbane-based Conexu Foundation, the app directly connects callers via
a live captioner so that phone conversations can be read as they happen. Conexu
Foundation is a non-profit organisation which creates and promotes technology to give
people who are deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired more choices for communicating
where and when they need.
Conexu CEO Rachel McKay said the new app can also connect through Bluetooth to a
braille display so the captions can be read by people who are deafblind.
This is a real game changer for hundreds of thousands of Australians who find it difficult
or impossible to use the phone in the way most of us take for granted, Ms McKay said.
As the population ages, we know more people are losing their hearing and vision but that
doesnt mean they should be denied mobile communication. The app provides a quick,
direct connection that makes the most of the iPad or iPhones accessibility settings and
integrates with the users contacts.
The app is in trial stage on iOS and participation is open to people who are deafblind. You
can register to be involved by emailing hello@conexu.com.au or downloading the app at
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/openaccess-captions/id1044882161?mt=8

Link between hearing impairment and arthritis

A review on the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and hearing impairment (HI)
was recently published in the Open Rheumatology Journal and highlighted that patients
with RA are at a higher risk during the course of their disease.
The review was carried out by researchers from the Odense University Hospital in
Denmark. They performed a comprehensive search of all specialized sources (Pubmed,
Embase, Cochrane, etc.) to answer the following questions: to what extent are people with
RA at a higher risk of HI and what factors are involved?

In their article, they report that sensorineural hearing loss is the most common type of
hearing impairment in RA patients, with a range of 25% to 72%, depending on the source,
while conductive hearing loss and mixed hearing loss were reported far less frequently.
The review also showed that HI in these patients is multifactorial, with the disease and
environmental factors playing sometimes interrelated roles.
The researchers found that a large number of disease manifestations may be involved
including for instance rheumatoid nodules that may affect the ears, auditory neuropathy
due to vasculitis, or destruction of hair cells or the inner ear due to immune complex
deposition. Many clinical variables are also likely to play a role, including age, sex, disease
activity, and disease duration for example.
Among the many environmental factors, the authors specifically refer to smoking (both
through active and passive exposure), alcohol consumption, and exposure to noise. They
point out that all of these factors are likely to interact with RA and affect HI, but that no
specific evidence or studies are available for RA patients.

Source: Emamifar A, et al. Is Hearing Impairment Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis? A

Review. Open Rheumatology Journal. 2016 Mar 15;10:26-32.

Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for

Improving Access and Affordability
In the United States, the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine convened an expert
committee to study the accessibility
and affordability of hearing health care
for adults in the United States.
The committee recommends key
institutional,
technological,
and
regulatory changes that would enable
consumers to find and fully use the
appropriate, affordable, and highquality services, technologies, and
supports they need.
The resulting report, Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for Improving Access and
Affordability, provides those recommendations.
http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/reports/2016/Hearing-Health-Care-for-Adults.aspx

One in six Australians has a hearing

health and well-being issue. We need
you to share our campaign with your
friends, colleagues and family members to
encourage them to sign up.
You can either do that by sharing the Break
the Sound Barrier page on Facebook.
Break the Sound Barrier is your
campaign the more stories we can all
tell and share, the more we can make sure
were heard!

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/breaksoundbarrier/
Website http://breakthesoundbarrier.org.au/

Aid helps parents and professionals discuss how

a babys unilateral hearing loss will be managed
following diagnosis
Parents need to make informed decisions at a time when they are coming to terms with
their babys hearing loss and have little knowledge about unilateral hearing loss and how it
might affect their baby in the future.
A patient decision aid is a tool used during a consultation to help parents make informed
decisions that are consistent with their values and preferences. To develop a patient
decision aid, the first requirement is understanding the information and support needs of
the people who will be using the decision aid.
To do this, the Griffith University is seeking to recruit:
1. Parents whose child has been diagnosed with a permanent unilateral hearing loss in
the past 3 years to take part in a semi-structured interview to discuss their
experiences and needs regarding decisions when their baby was diagnosed with the
hearing loss.
2. Professionals, who work with parents whose babies have been diagnosed with a
permanent unilateral hearing loss, to take part in a semi-structured interview to
discuss the decision needs of parents from a clinician perspective.
This study has approval from the Griffith University Human Research Ethics Committee (GU
Ref No: 2016/427).
If you are interested in participating or learning more about the study, please email
ann.porter@griffithuni.edu.au

Know someone who might like to receive One in Six?

To subscribe, drop us a line to info@deafnessforum.org.au

Items in Deafness Forum communications incorporate or summarise views, standards or recommendations of

third parties or comprise material contributed by third parties or sourced from items published in the public
domain. Our intention is to attain balance and be representative of all views within the sector we represent,
however this may not be attainable in particular editions. Subjective censoring of materials and or external
influence on editorial policy will not occur. Third party material is assembled in good faith, but does not
necessarily reflect the considered views of Deafness Forum, or indicate commitment to a particular course of
action. Deafness Forum makes no representation or warranty about the accuracy, reliability, currency or
completeness of any third party information.