2019 Hearing Awareness Week Transcript

Disclaimer:

The meeting was not audio recorded. This edited version of the transcript is provided on the basis that it is not a 100 per cent verbatim record and may contain errors.

Geraldine O’Loughlin accepts no liability for any event or action resulting from this transcript.

The attendees of this meeting contributed freely to the discussion in the knowledge that this material is not intended for publication other than to assist the people who wish to keep a record of discussions for meeting purposes. Please take this into consideration when reading their contributions.

Pictures from the 2019 HAW event can be found here.

BARRY MacKINNON: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our Hearing Awareness Week little event. To start with today I would like to make an acknowledgement of course; that is, we wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we are meeting and we wish to respect their traditional and ongoing culture and the contribution they have made to the life of this city, which is significant, and the region. Can I also make a special welcome, to our guest, the Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt. Thanks again for coming, Ken, out of your busy day; to Aileen Stewart from Santos. Stand up, Aileen, so people can see you. Santos are the people who support us for the youth scholarship that we run every year. And Australian Hearing has the hearing bus. We had a little bit of a hiccough with the shopping centre. The bus is not now out to your left; it is up the stairs outside the library. If anyone wants a hearing check, the hearing bus is outside upstairs. Finally, if I can say thank you to Lotterywest. Lotterywest has been very generous all we have done over the years in terms of Hearing Awareness Week. Can I say as a political comment to some extent that we are very, very lucky in Western Australia to have two political parties that oppose poker machines, who don’t want pokeys in this state. We don’t have them; we have Lotterywest. It makes a huge contribution to this society and without them we would be the poorer‑‑and we’d be the poorer with the pokies in my opinion. That is my political sermon for the day out of the day, out of the way.

The purpose of this event is to focus on hearing loss, particularly for elderly Australian, or seniors. Most Australians, me included, will lose our hearing to a degree over our life and some of them, of course, more significantly than others. And when people lose their hearing, a lot of the time, they become very isolated. We want to try to ensure that modern technology and the services to that a whole raft of people is provided can help people overcome that isolation.

We are going to start with Ken having the opening and talking about the hearing roadmap that the government of Australia is developing to try to chart out the future of hearing loss in this country. We will then have presentations from a range of people the range of services available. We will have a presentation of our awards and then a Q&A discussion at the end of the day, hosted by Geof Parry. All those people will be introduced as we go through the morning.

To introduce the minister, I would like to welcome Mark Fitzpatrick. Many of you would have met Mark. He is the CEO now of the Telethon Speech and Hearing Centre‑ has been since 2017. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Saint Vincent De Paul, vice president of WACCOS and a board member of First Voice. He has two children and tragically for me‑‑I can’t understand‑‑he’s a Carlton supporter! I’m sorry about that, Mark. They have had golden years but not in recent years. Please welcome Mark Fitzpatrick.

MARK FITZPATRICK: Thanks, Barry and thanks for revealing my not so secret passion for the Blues. I often get asked why I barrack for the Blues. The truth of the story is that I am one of before four boys and when we were growing up we weren’t allowed to barrack for the same team before the AFL came in. You stick with your team, and at that stage in the early 80s, they were winning and Mark Fitzpatrick was their captain. That is the link.

I would also like to acknowledge the Noongar people in terms of the land we stand on today and pay my respect to elders past and present. It gives me pleasure to welcome Hon Ken Wyatt, AM, the member for Hasluck, the Minister for Indigenous health and the Minister for seniors and aged care. I asked Barry whether there was a bio and we got it yesterday afternoon, but I did my homework on the weekend. He was born in 1952 at Roelands Mission farm, near Bunbury, to Don and Mona. After school, he went to what has now become Edith Cowan University, obtaining a Bachelor of Education, a Dip Ed, teacher’s certificate, plus many more. From there Ken has had a successful career in education, Aboriginal education and Aboriginal health, including as district director Swan education district and director of Aboriginal health in New South Wales, and after, holding that, the director of Aboriginal health in Western Australia. Not only has Ken had an extensive career in health and education, he has also made an enormous contribution in the wider community in training and mentoring young people. This was recognised in 1996, when Ken was awarded the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday honours list, and later in 2000, Ken was awarded the Centenary of Federation Medal for efforts in improving the quality for life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and mainstream Australian society in education and health. In 2008, Ken was awarded the Indigenous Education Warrior Award at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference. Ken was then elected in 2010 as the federal member for Hasluck, making history as the first Indigenous member in the House of Representatives. In December 2013, Ken then became the first member for Hasluck re‑elected for a second term. And in 2015, Ken made history, becoming the first Indigenous member for the federal executive after being sworn in as the Minister for Health.

Ken brings his knowledge in health and education in his role as Minister for Seniors and Aged Care and the Minister for Indigenous Health, as well as a lifetime of experiences in raising a family and being part of the local Perth community. Most recently and importantly for us, Minister Wyatt has facilitated the important work on the roadmap for hearing health. Please join me in welcoming Hon Ken Wyatt.

[Applause]

KEN WYATT: Barry, I’m joining you with old joints! In Noongar language, I say “kaya wanju”. Hello and welcome. I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today, the Wadjuk people of the Noongar nation, their elders past, present and future. I want to acknowledge Barry McKinnon, the President of the Deafness Council WA and other council members. Barry and I have known each other for a long time and I know of his passion working in this area, and we have had some good conversations over the years. We know that one in six Australians experience some form of hearing loss, often resulting in significant long‑term impact to their health and wellbeing, with more than 90 per cent of those age over 50. Due to our ageing population, by 2050 the number of people affected is expected to rise to one in four. We know the social, mental and economic impact of deafness is profound. Staying connected through hearing is also vital to our emotional wellbeing with international research now indicating that deafness and the failure to use hearing aids can increase the risk of dementia by more than 20 per cent and in men markedly raise the risk of depression. The cost of hearing loss to our community is significant, with a report estimating that the annual direct economic impact of poor hearing in Australia is around $15.9 billion. Hearing loss becomes more common as we get older, but over 1.3 million Australians are living with a hearing condition that could have been prevented. While avoiding hearing damage is best, modern hearing assistance can do wonders, so it’s important to have regular hearing checks and to seek help early. Our government’s hearing services program provides free or subsidised hearing services and devices to more than 7 500 eligible Australians.

Hearing Awareness Week is also an important reminder of the particular challenges of hearing loss for some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Diseases such as otitis media can have a long‑term impact on education, employment and wellbeing, so working with Indigenous communities and families to improve ear health is one of my highest priorities. I have had two mining companies tell me that they would have liked to have employed young Indigenous men and women, but couldn’t employ them because their hearing had been impaired and they would have been at risk on a mining site of not hearing reversing vehicles or important sounds for which they can take the measure of placing themselves in a safe position. That is not particular, either, just to the Indigenous people. The commonwealth’s Australian hearing specialist program for Indigenous Australians provides diagnose, professional ear health training, equipment and surgeries for people with more than 200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities each year. In addition, the Morrison government is supporting dedicated Indigenous ear health activities, allocating more than $76.4 million over 10 years. Various inquiries and reviews have highlight the fragmented nature of action to improving hearing health, even when there is significant effort such as that targeted to Indigenous Australians. That is why I established the Hearing Health Sector Committee in 2018, and tasked it to develop a roadmap for hearing, in consultation with the sector but also with consumers. The committee is made up of 16 representatives of consumer and community groups, suppliers and providers, manufacturers, professionals and academics, and it is independently chaired by Mr David Chew, AO, PFM. The committee met four times between July 2018 and January 2019 and hosted two stakeholder forums in September 2018 and 2019. The resulting road map provides the basis for the sector, consumers and governments to move forward with collective understanding of the issues and actions that will lead to improvements in hearing health for all Australians. Developed and owned by the hearing sector, the roadmap sets out the short, medium and long‑term actions across six themes, or domains. A similar roadmap approach is being successfully developed for the senior sector.

Reflecting the importance of hearing, this issue was discussed at the COAG health council meeting on 2 August 2018, and I will take the roadmap to the council’s next meeting on 8 March 2019. The purpose of the roadmap is to encourage the commonwealth and state and territories governments to work together to look at the solutions needed both within the immediate term, but then to plan for the short‑term gains that we can make to improve access to hearing, and then, ultimately, what is the long‑term outcome. As we use a roadmap as we travel, say, from Perth to Hyden, we know the points that we need to pull in at on the way to Hyden. Once we’re at that end point, we know we have achieved our objective. The roadmap is designed in the same way, so that the sector committee, and state and territory governments use that roadmap as the direction they need to take in order to achieve the outcomes that we need. The challenging parts was with the Auslan group, who felt that there should be a separate domain. But when I talked to them about the need to have it included in a couple of the key areas because it was critical, they’ve accepted that and now the roadmap will go to the next health council meeting of all the Australian health ministers to adopt. That means that states and territories will need to respond to it, including the commonwealth. The roadmap is a step forward in representing a whole‑of‑sector view. It presents potential actions for the commonwealth and states and territories as well as for other stakeholders.

The roadmap has not been informed by questions of cost or relative benefits, and contains over 100 actions. Nonetheless, the roadmap is a step forward from the 2017 “Still waiting to be heard” parliamentary inquiry report, and its preceding inquiries and reviews, particularly in terms of the increasing collaboration and capacity within the sector. State and territory health ministers may express concern that they were not consulted in the development of the roadmap and are being asked to develop the implementation plan with two potential implications, including initiatives that reach beyond their responsibilities, into disability services, education, employment, criminal justice, communications, infrastructure, and social inclusion. The Department of Health is yet to consider how it will implement actions directly within our minister’s remit. While the hearing sector will welcome publication of the roadmap and continued attention, some will review of the roadmap as further evidence of inactivity by governments. Some may critique the roadmap as rushed. The Independent Audiologist Association has been publicly critical, arguing that it has been unfairly excluded from the committee. What is important, though, is that there have been numerous reports from which there has been no action. I have Australians who approach me, because I have responsibility along with Michael Keenan, for Australian Hearing Services‑‑Michael has one part and I have the other. Every time I meet with people who have hearing challenges, they express to me their frustration that there is not a unified approach across the nation that includes all the key sectors in ensuring that something is done in the future. The most challenging group I met with were young people, who talked to me about their social isolation within their formative school years, high school years and tertiary years, and having the levels of support that were critical and important to them to acquire the knowledge for the disciplines they were studying. That was probably the most significant and profound group that I talked to, because we also talked about social exclusion in sport‑‑that they could play football, they could play netball, but an umpire didn’t understand that they couldn’t hear so they were penalised, and they had to explain that they didn’t hear a whistle. So once they had those conversations with referees and umpires in those games, they were able to influence the thinking of people. There are other areas that they also talked about the social exclusion from.

In the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s report, provision of hearing services under the NDIS was also to be considered. The Hearing Care Industry Association report, “The Social and Economic Cost of Hearing Loss in Australia” was included in their deliberations. The PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report, “Review of Services and Technology Supply in the Hearing Services program”, and the Siggins Miller “Examination of Australian Government Indigenous Ear and Hearing Initiatives” report were also considered. Most of the recommendations arising from the reports either require potentially significant funding, areas where government is also providing significant support. There are areas which are the responsibility of state and territory governments, while areas that need further work to settle a position. The reviews and reports do not indicate the relative priority, efficacy or cost‑effectiveness of the recommendations made. The Hearing Health Sector Committee provides the opportunity to commence working with the hearing sector to improve the hearing health of all Australians in a considered and coordinated way. Some stakeholders, particularly the Hearing Care Industry Association have highlighted concerns with any potential changes to the hearing services program. The roadmap has some distinct areas. It has a set of guiding principles. It identifies the priorities that have been agreed to by those who attended the forums and on the planning committee that produced the roadmap. The first was enhancing awareness and inclusion. They are all structured with a background, the desired outcome, key actions‑‑short term, that’s up to two years; medium, three to five; and long term, five to seven years. The second priority was closing the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ear and hearing health. The third, preventing hearing loss. The fourth, identifying hearing loss. The fifth, providing support‑‑and that’s where Auslan features significantly in its own right‑‑and in enhancing the sector’s workforce which focuses on what is needed for the future. The roadmap, whilst it is not the definitive document, it nevertheless points to a direction that we as a nation have to take if we are to address an area that is not visibly seen by Australians who walk past somebody who has a hearing problem or a hearing challenge, unless they have a distinct hearing aid. I was excited, working in New South Wales in Aboriginal health, when I met the inventor of the cochlear ear. We had a great conversation. I caught up with him recently. I thought he would not remember the discussion we had. But he came across and we rekindled our discussion and discussed the need for a concerted national direction and we could use as the foundation for the reforms that were needed. Once the roadmap has been ticked off by the Australian health ministers, it will be released for public discussion. It is an important step forward. Whatever the outcome of the federal election, I would hope that my counterpart will continue with the roadmap and by establishing the hearing sector committee. I know that they will be the drivers of the work that they have brought together.

I wish you well in your deliberations. It would have been good to stay, but I have to jump on one of those silver things that fly through the sky to be in Adelaide by six o’clock tonight for some major announcements tomorrow. It’s a privilege being here with you all and I thank you, each and every one of you, for the work you do. Santos for the scholarship that you provide and to the young lady from Australian Hearing who is having your third anniversary tonight, who is having a meal with her husband tonight, and I hope you have a pleasurable meal. Thank you all.

[Applause]

BARRY MacKINNON: Thank you, Ken. Can I just say before the minister goes that whilst he’s there, thanks very much, minister, for your contribution. He hit some very interesting points in that talk about the hearing health roadmap. One, of course, of which is a perennial problem in this country, and that is cooperation between state and territory and federal governments to ensure services are appropriately delivered. I hope the roadmap can spell that out. Secondly, the importance of early intervention and identification of hearing loss so that we can provide support for young Australians so they can play their positive and proper role in the future of our country. Thanks again. Can I ask you to put your hands together again and thank the Minister Ken.

[Applause]

We now come to the section where we’re going to have a talk from a whole group of people about issues and how we can address hearing loss. The first person to talk to us today is David Gibson. David is on my left. You will see what a good‑looking colt he is. David was a graduate of the Royal Military College in Duntroon; he was an army officer for eight and half years. He then was a state member of Parliament in Queensland, and the Minister for Police and Community Safety. He then woke up to himself and came back to Western Australia, instead of living in Queensland. He’s the oldest child of deaf parents, so he has a clear understanding of the issues facing deaf and hearing impaired people. He’s currently, of course, the CEO of Access Plus WA Deaf.

You all have 10 minutes and I will give you a yell at nine minutes.

DAVID GIBSON: I feel the need to include my AFL allegiance at this point, which is the Dockers. I am born and bred in Fremantle so I am a long‑suffering Docker supporter for many good reasons. When you hear your bio being spoken by people, it’s an opportunity to reflect on your own life and on organisations. I have a great opportunity at the moment to act as the CEO of Access Plus WA Deaf. We have been around since 1921 servicing the deaf and hard of hearing community in Western Australia. We started off with just 12 people who gathered together on Railway Parade, and wanted and identified there was a need to support the deaf and hard of hearing here in Western Australia back then. It’s moved through. It was originally established as a Western Australian Deaf and Dumb Adult Deaf Society. It then moved on to be the Western Australian Deaf Society, and just last year we rebranded as the Access Plus WA Deaf.

Our purpose today is to facilitate a community of communication without limits. You will notice in that purpose there isn’t anything about the word about “deaf” or “hearing”. It deliberately focuses on communication and without limits. I think that ties in nicely to today’s topic. Our mantra, however, is slightly different. Our mantra is putting the deaf and hard of hearing at the centre of everything we do, and that we feel is important for all the services we provide. I will touch on those in a moment. Our values, as identified by our community, are exactly, firstly, community, access, inclusion, and progress. The organisation today does not reflect the same approach that the organisation had in 1921. There is a very good reason for that; society today is very different from what it was in 1921. In 1921 women were not expected to work. In 1921 the Indigenous did not have the vote. Our society has moved on in many areas, as it has in the disability space as well. Access Plus WA Deaf takes a bi‑modal, bilingual approach to communication. We do that based on the evidence. We’ve currently been working with those who have cochlears who identify that the cochlear itself, whilst a great tool, does not provide full communication, and they need additional support with Auslan. We work with those who choose to only have Auslan and later in life then identify that a cochlear brings that additional support, and those wishing to have the cochlear installed at a later point in their life. We are currently assisting a gentleman in his 40s, being profoundly deaf for most of his life who now feels that a cochlear will provide him assistance and probably will for his choices moving forward.

The services we provide are across four main areas and these are been shaped with the needs of our community and government funding. The NDIS causes us to have to adjust our business model for those areas. The four service areas we have are: Access Interpreting that focuses mainly on Auslan interpreting across a whole lot of areas, as per the interpreter standing here right now. We also have Access My Life, which is our community services area. This is where we provide community support workers for those who have NDIS packages, WA NDIS packages, or metro packages for community support work. This can be across a whole range of areas. It can vary from community support workers, communication guides, support in the home, support in sporting environments as was alluded to by the minister with regards to individuals needing support to go through. We look at a broad range of those areas. We also have a service called Access My NDIS. A large part of that service right now is ensuring that deaf and hard of hearing people get the right NDIS plan, and the problem we’re seeing there is that the NDIS is, whilst it is a life‑changing and a generational shift, it is yet has a lot to improve on. We are seeing peoples’ plans lacking key areas and a view that if you don’t, ask you don’t get, whilst is great for the commonwealth, is not necessarily good for individuals. So Access My NDIS is about support for people going to their plans, understanding what their plan means, and then in appeals and reviews afterwards.

We also then have Access My Training. This is focused on delivering a whole range of education and training resources around Auslan that involves community education, deafness awareness training, our language early acquisition program‑‑LEAP‑‑along with other specialised courses we may deliver for employers or individuals or such as families in the home where a deaf individual may want to ensure that their family have Auslan skills, so the feelings of isolation that may occur at a BBQ may not occur when other family members have the language themselves.

Our approach has been to engage and work with the community. It is the way we have been doing it since 2021 and we continually adapt and move forward. Just recently we have identified that for those who are deaf and hard of hearing and also identify as LGBT face an additional barrier within not only the disability but also prejudice towards sexual orientation. So we’re beginning to work on a program in that space.

We’ve also been supported for entrepreneurship to assist the deaf and hard of hearing with gaining employment within the “gig” economy. For those who are not familiar with what the term the gig economy‑that is, when you order Uber eats or you get Airbnb or any of those online‑type businesses that are not becoming not only micro businesses but challenging the way our economy operates. We see a great opportunity there for the deaf and hard of hearing. I have had the great fortune on three occasions on the east coast to order an Uber and to be told by Uber that my driver is deaf. We don’t have any deaf drivers of Uber in WA yet, but we’re keen to support this program that will roll out over the next month or so to embrace the gig economy.

Technology is changing the way we live‑‑for the deaf, the hearing and for everybody. For those of us who are able and seeing this technology and embracing it, we are there to support them. We also recognise that section of community who are of an age who do not necessarily feel comfortable with the technology. There are people, believe it or not, still writing cheques and going into the post office to pay phone bills. That’s okay. That is absolutely okay! We support people in those areas as well. That support tends to be more in translation; in explaining what the written documents are and assisting them to unpack them in an easy English version. If you have ever had to deal with the foreign affairs department with a visa application, you will know that it quotes chapter and verse on legislation and at the end of the day, it’s just asking you to provide information. We translate not just for the deaf and hard of hearing but sometimes for the hearing where English is a second language.

Access Plus WA Deaf is an organisation that I am incredibly proud to be leading. It has great support across the whole community in WA, and one in which we see a great future as we work in partnership with all the other providers in the hearing sector. I thank Barry and the Deafness Council for today because I think it shows that commitment we have across the whole sectors in working together. Thank you.

[Applause]

BARRY MacKINNON: Thank you, David. He has pointed out a raft of issues, probably finishing on one that really impacts on us all, which is new technology. When you think about technology‑‑I have witnessed it certainly with our son who is deaf and has a cochlear. The impact of the new technology, particularly mobile phones and texting has opened up a whole new world for deaf and hard of hearing people. Before that my son was isolated in communication with his peers. Not anymore. He’s the most active bloody bloke on Facebook that you have seen. People keep telling me what he’s up to, that I don’t know half the time. It’s fantastic technology and it’s good to see that Access Plus has recognised that and is working hard to ensure that its community is getting the benefits of that technology. Thanks, David.

As David talked about cochlears‑‑and there’s a whole raft of technologies to assist people. CICADA is an organisation that has been going for some time. It is an organisation that supports people with a cochlear implant. We have Lynette Fleming here today. Come on down. Lynette is a long‑term supporter of the Deafness Council and CICADA. Her husband Ross has had a cochlear since 1996, so she’s well aware of the challenges that face any person with a cochlear. She’s an active CICADA member. Please, welcome Lynette Fleming.

LYNETTE FLEMING: Thank you very much, Barry. Good morning. As Barry has said, I have hearing; my husband, Ross, after many years of hearing and ear problems has been a cochlear implantee since 1996. We have been associated with CICADA since its his implantation. CICADA‑‑Cochlear Implant Club and Advisory Association‑‑has branches throughout Australia. We are a non‑profit, self‑help support group of volunteers. CICADA is mainly for adult implantees, anyone thinking about having a cochlear implant and their family members. The type of support offered can vary from person to person. The support offered by our group is fairly casual, discussing and comparing stages of rehabilitation, and each person’s way of dealing with stages of hearing again. Most people seem to relax and find it easier to discuss problems of ways around problems or even great leaps forward with a cuppa in hand. Prior to, or after implantation, we encourage family members and friends to come along with the implantee, as sometimes people may have unclear ideas of what an implantee can expect, and with time, and experience, the amazing result that may be achieved. People with hearing impairment seem to avoid social gatherings, so included in our support we arrange social outings and encourage anyone who in the past may have avoided such venues to join us in an area that could be outside their comfort zone with companions who have dealt with similar uncertainties. If required, we offer a more personal support. An implantee may live alone or have difficulty finding a family member or friend to help with certain areas of rehabilitation. CICADA members will try to fill the gap. We try to keep members up to date with items of interest to the hearing impaired. We do a limited amount of fundraising and any money we make is donated to areas to assist the hearing impaired.

CICADA is simply, with our meetings, quiet chats, fundraising and outings, implantees, offering encouragement and support to implantees. Thank you. [Applause]

BARRY MacKINNON: It’s amazing. When I asked Lynette to talk today, she said, “I wouldn’t know what to say.” But that was fantastic. You hit the nail on the button. She made a very important point: that is, hearing loss is an individual thing. It will affect every person differently. From whomever it is, from a person who is Auslan user or a person who doesn’t use a hearing aid, or a person like John Byrne who communicates manually by writing‑‑there is a raft of individual differences and I think CICADA fills a gap there for people. Thanks for what you have told us. Lynette hit the nail on the head when the theme of today is “communication, not isolation”. That is what CICADA is all about‑‑trying to assist that communication. The next speaker is Kirsten White; she is the wonderful woman who the minister talked about who is having her third anniversary today. Give her a big clap. I don’t know whether you read the paper on the weekend‑‑being a young people don’t read papers these day; I do. There was an article in the paper about Jack Bendat, who you probably don’t know. Jack Bendat is a very wealthy Western Australian, and he owns the Wildcats. He was talking about his personal life. His wife died last year, but he’d been married for 73 years, so you’ve only have 70 to go! [Laughter]

In Kirsten’s case, she was born in Western Australia and then went to New Zealand, to live in Christchurch. She came back to Australia when she was 19 to find a good‑looking, young Australian man to marry so she married a New Zealander! She’s been working now at Australian Hearing for nine years. She’s the manager of the specialist centre and Outreach program for over 2 000 people in Western Australia. Was a keen surfer, but these days is scared of sharks. I don’t know why! So she goes snowboarding because there are no sharks on the mountains. Welcome.

[Applause]

KIRSTEN WHITE: Hi, everyone. I’m pleased that the minister and Barry have acknowledged my third wedding anniversary today. I woke up this morning, my husband forgot, so we’re off to a rolling start!

I’m from Australian Hearing and many people probably know who Australian Hearing is, in the room today. But for people, to give you history about Australian Hearing. We were first established in 1947, so we’ve been around for 72 years. Not far off that marriage, actually, that Barry just referred to. It’s a long time. We became a statutory authority under the Australian Hearing Services Act in 1991. We’re part of the Department of Human Services. We offer the most advanced technology and devices and accessories to assist all our clients with their hearing and communication difficulties. We have over 500 000 clients‑‑it’s half a million clients in Australia‑‑and we have more than 490 locations throughout Australia. You may have also heard of our research arm NAL‑‑National Acoustics Laboratory. We are also the only provider funded to deliver services to children and eligible adults with their complex needs, and we hold the funding for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote communities. We have over 450 audiologists, and we fit more than 130 000 state‑of‑the‑art hearing aids each year.

There are two strands to our program, mainly referred to as the “voucher” and then the “community service obligation”. The hearing services program funds that for us. We are talking about offering clients’ free hearing tests, fully subsidised hearing aids, repairs and batteries on maintenance, and ongoing rehabilitation and advice.

Some interesting facts that I think the minister also touched on:

One in Six Australians, that’s 3.6 million Australians, have some form of hearing loss and this will rise to one in five by 2060. Between 9 to 12 children per 10 000 live births are born with a moderate or gross hearing loss in both ears. A further 23 children per 10 000 will require hearing aids by the age of 18 due to accident, illness or other causes. Seven in 10 Indigenous Australians have a hearing loss and almost half of childhood hearing loss is preventable. Over a third of adult hearing is also preventable‑‑37 per cent.

Again, the financial costs that the minister touched on is estimated in 2017, at $15.9 billion and the value lost is $17.4 billion. It’s a huge cost to our country.

Australian Hearing fits approximately 2 000 children every year with their first hearing device. We look after children from infancy through to the age of 26, when they are developing into young adults. More than 500 000 Australians wear a hearing aid and 1.4 million could benefit from wearing a hearing aid. It takes an average in Australia seven years for a person to first notice they might have a hearing loss until they take action, and only 16 per cent of adults who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wear one.

Some of the effects on untreated hearing loss include fatigue, tension, stress and depression, social withdrawal and isolation, diabetes, reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety. There’s potential to reduce opportunity in the workplace, and safety, cognitive decline and reduced quality of life with a moderate to worse hearing loss.

So what can Australians do to help Australians who are facing issues with hearing and communication? We want to support communication, not isolation. There are a number of services that Australian Hearing offers. These include for our adults, hearing assessments and hearing aid fittings, first and foremost. We give access to the latest hearing device technology. We also run a home visiting service for clients who can’t come into the appointments. We do repair to supplies and batteries. We do evaluations of hearing aid benefits as we go and we give ongoing follow-up and care to our clients. We run rehabilitation programs to effectively manage the hearing loss. We give strategies in the home and other environments. We give tips for family and friends and other support people; specialist support and communication training to adults with severe to profound hearing loss as well.

So to give you an idea of some communication training and rehabilitation programs, I have just popped a few things down. We do tactics and strategies that include positioning when we talk to clients, use of visual clues, contextual clue, writing down message, speech reading and questioning techniques as well. We provide assistant listening devices and we also provide assertive listening strategies for our clients. We have a range of handouts available for clients on our website, and audiologist can also hand these out during appointments. We go over telephone and telecommunication management‑‑the use of a Telecoil, benefits of an amplified phone, specialised telephone products that are out there. We talk about the use of TTY and relay service and we the use of faxes and email.

At Australian Hearing we also use interpreters and translators. And our website actually has a translator so that people accessing our website for the first time can change it into their primary language and print anything from the website to provide information. We give information for family and friends in the way of handouts. We can encourage a client to bring a family member or loved one along to an appointment and also run through tactics of positioning for best communication effectiveness. Some of the professional development we do out in the community includes accredited “GP Plan, Do, Study, Act” for GPs, which we promote. We run GP information sessions. We do training for staff at nursing homes, and this training would include tops of the signs of hearing loss, management of the hearing devices in nursing homes, which is important for elderly clients who can’t manage devices themselves, and general support for hearing, for people who have a hearing loss.

So hearing aids and assistive technology can help. Hearing aids are associated with improvements in the socio‑emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing of all people with a hearing loss. Different levels of technology will suit different levels of communication. Some big advancement of hearing aids in the last few years, that have taken place‑‑most people with a hearing loss even a mild one, can get some benefit from a well‑fitted hearing aid, and success depends on how well the auditory nerves can pass the message from the ear to the brain. The modern hearing aids sound better. They are smarter and more adjustable. They are smaller. They can also be set to fully automatic and offer a huge range of amazing features, but they will never restore normal hearing.

Some of the factors that affect hearing aid success would be the type and degree of hearing loss, speech discrimination, motivation of the person wearing the device and also their expectations. That is really what the Australian Hearing audiologists work with clients to achieve. For mainly our older clients, there’s also a bit of manual skill and dexterity that comes into it. Support for other people is really important, perseverance and practice, and length of any auditory deprivation will have an effect on how successful the wearer is. The question comes up sometimes with new clients: One versus, two? So 80 per cent of our clients have two hearing aids for a good reason‑‑that’s because we have two ears. Two aids are better than one and they give you a more natural and balanced sound and help you work out where the sound is coming from.

Most of you would be familiar with the behind‑the‑ear hearing aid. These can be used with moulds or light clips, and suit all types of hearing loss right the way from mild to profound. This style is easy to keep clean as well. Then we also have the in‑the‑ear and completely in the canal. This style is more suitable for a mild to moderate hearing loss. It has a customised fit and they’re small in size but they can make it difficult sometimes with management.

Just to give an example of some of the features, or one of the most common features, is the noise reduction in background noise. The microphones are used over directionality, and we go hand in hand with practising with our clients about positioning to get the most out of a hearing aid in a busy room. For the higher level hearing aid level, the more focus on the individual and the length it requires just to hear. We counsel clients and family also on environmental factors, expectations and limitations of hearing devices.

Some of the more recent technology includes Bluetooth hearing aids, direct streaming, streamline TV, and streamline mics. We have a new range where you don’t need to change the battery‑‑if anyone is interested in that, see me at the back‑‑Lithium‑ion rechargeable batteries and rechargeable case as well. Technology is certainly advancing.

I will go right to the end because I’m getting kicked off the stage! I don’t take it personally! [Laughs]

In summary, there are a range of things that Australian Hearing can do. Largely it is devices, but we are here to support all our clients, friends and family as well, on how to get the best out of using hearing devices. We certainly do a lot of communication training, particularly with our very complex adults who have profound hearing losses, severe to profound, and need support. Australian Hearing can support communication, not isolation, by best offering clients the latest possible hearing aid technology and advice. Thank you.

[Applause]

BARRY MacKINNON: Thank you, Kirsten. Again, a reminder, if you want a free hearing check outside‑‑up the stairs and outside of the library. Again, focusing as Kirsten did, as most people have, on the theme “Communication, not Isolation”, which is what Australian Hearing are all about. In fact, I was sitting there listening to Kirsten and I remembered clearly when our son was first diagnosed, going to Australian Hearing and going to that little sound booth and going through all those tests. It was quite confronting as a dad when you find out that your little boy who is 11 months old has a hearing loss. But you meet those challenges as you go forward. Thank you to Australian Hearing for the support they gave our family.

Dr Barnard Clarkson, from Better Hearing Australia, is next. Barnie’s hearing all of a sudden started deteriorating in his 30s‑‑only looks 35 now so it was not very long ago! He’s been advocating hearing solutions ever since. As an academic and researcher, he tries to master the useful facts to bring forward for discussion. He is the Vice Chairman of Better Hearing Western Australia. He will talk about its approach to ageing and hearing loss.

[Applause]

BARNARD CLARKSON: Gee, this is a tough ask. I should ask you all to stand up do a bit of stretching and relax. Are we ready for five minutes of stories about Better Hearing, and my last couple of minutes I’m handing over to those handsome young men in black T‑shirts to talk about SENSORIUM, which is one of our projects, at the end.

Is that better? My apologies. I was using mute because I didn’t want any of those stories being shared publicly when we were talking earlier.

Better Hearing is one of Australia’s largest independent, consumer‑based not for profits, supporting adults with hearing loss. We provide advocacy, advice and education. We he have a couple of projects I plan to talk about, particularly WADA, the public loop, the idea of lip reading, Auslan and SENSORIUM.

I have been involved with Better Hearing for a while and it’s been a lovely journey. It is fabulous to feel we are part of progress. But as we have discovered recently, and you all probably already know, it’s not about hearing aids, it’s about what’s behind the hearing aids. We know better than worrying only about hearing aids; it’s actually about the brain. So when I talk to you about our activities, you will remember, of course, that all of them are related to the fact that there is a brain and we need to keep it stimulated as we age. In fact, looking after our hearing is better done by looking after our brain, and if we’re not doing a better job, then we’re not looking after our hearing either. So we have some key projects. There roughly is the list of them, but to remind you, the brain is what we’re talking about. The brain is the engine behind everything we do and we need to make certain we continue to look after our brain. We know that we’re about adult hearing loss, it’s an invisible problem. It’s more than just the ears. It’s associated with isolation and dementia, and estimates vary from $12 billion to $16 billion a year‑‑can I say that again, $12 billion to $16 billion a year is the cost of hearing loss in Australia. We are a large health issue, and it is only recently‑‑Ken Wyatt as he was leaving was showing me the report he is about to deliver tomorrow that he’s working his way through, and it looks very impressive. It’s lovely to think that hearing might at last be a major issue with the federal government.

But we also know three and four adults over the age of 70 are going to have some form of hearing loss and yet we were told earlier that something like one in six Australians on average have a hearing loss and one in six of those wear hearing aids. So we have got a long way to go, haven’t we? We also know it’s best treated early, not as a disease, but as part of ageing and that we can exercise age away. There is evidence, increasingly good evidence, that good exercise can help the brain and the bodied. Recent research I heard on the ABC last week‑‑put someone in bed for three weeks and don’t let them move, they were aged 20 to 30, and measure their hearts at the end, and the damage is apparently quite significant. They were promised “We will give you an exercise program that repairs your heart if you suffered any damage from that three weeks in bed.” Guess what? It took three months of an active exercise program to get their hearts back to normal. A researcher was reading this research that happened when he was 10 and he wanted to follow them through. They found them all‑‑78 of them. They said, “Look, you were willing to participate in research on the heart 30 or 40 years ago, would you do it again today? We want to find out what condition your heart is in?” Guess what? They varied from some who were terribly active to people doing nothing at all. But the people in the middle who were doing a small amount of exercise, reasonable amount of exercise, keeping active, the damage to their hearts after 35 years was less than the damage that had happened when they were told to stay still for three weeks. That tells me ageing is something that we’re in charge of. If we keep fit, we’re putting off the ageing problem and, of course, it has consequences for our hearing.

So let me talk briefly about our projects and then we will introduce the SENSORIUM boys. First of all, we want to know about loops. Loops are being used here today. There aren’t really enough public loops out there. The latest technology is a tiny one‑to‑one loop. It’s slightly bigger than my hand. You can put it on a counter, an office somewhere, and it has a microphone on the back of it and rechargeable battery. No wires. Anyone with a T‑switch in their hearing aids, can walk up to the loop, talk to the loop and the person behind the loop, who’s voice is picked up by a microphone and amplified to a small area in front of it. This is the sort of technology we need to be pushing.

WADA‑‑Julie is going to introduce WADA when they perform for us later. But it is a creative output and opportunity for those with hearing loss. We of course do classes, teach Auslan and lip reading, and we provide advice and advocacy. And finally there is the SENSORIUM activities that we strongly recommend you think about supporting, because we are encouraging not just those with hearing loss but all people to come along to a sensory‑rich activity, a nightclub experience, which is going to be talked to you‑‑you’ll find details from Isaac and Rory. Would you welcome them.

[Applause]

ISAAC EDMONDS: As Western Australians, we all enjoy a night out whether it with families or friends and often it can be accompanied by music. So‑‑hold on. Sorry.

RORY SMITH: With SENSORIUM we aim to close the gap between the hearing and hearing impaired with a nightclub‑style experience. It will cater for anyone from young adults, families or anyone in between, irrespective of their level of hearing. The night will be tailored for the needs of the deaf but it is not to be confused with a deaf rave, which can isolate the deaf community. We are looking to bring the deaf and hearing together, but not in a way that excludes either.

ISAAC EDMONDS: The idea for SENSORIUM was formed from a 2003 initiative Sencity project in the Netherlands. It provided a nightclub for the deaf and has since launched in London, South Africa and even in Sydney. We, through Skype sessions, we have gained information and knowledge that has helped us to get a better insight into bringing our own adaptation of the project to Western Australia. Today we have heard about technology that can improve the lives of deaf community. Take, for example, the screen to my left with the live captioning, or we talked about the instant messaging that has brought kids closer to their peers.

RORY SMITH: We believe that the technology scene in nightclubs today can be tweaked in a manner that will better cater for the deaf community while still remaining a joyful experience for those attending.

ISAAC EDMONDS: SENSORIUM looks to excite all the senses. The sense of sight with the lighting and audio visual effects that will synchronise with the music; the sense of touch, with vibrations pulsating through the dance floor; and the sense of smell with aroma jockeys circling the room spraying different aromas to elicit different emotions.

RORY SMITH: SENSORIUM will have you seeing, hearing and even smelling the music. It will be a night to cater for all. We look to break down the perceived barriers between the deaf and hearing. SENSORIUM will deliver an experience‑‑an experience that delves you deeper into the music.

ISAAC EDMONDS: Our vision for 2019 is to carry out an official launch of the project with the aim of holding future events. We hope to work with WA Deaf Arts and we look for other youths, hearing or deaf, who may be interested in joining our project. Thank you for listening.

[Applause]

BARRY MacKINNON: We’ve talked a lot about technology this morning in progress, and that’s another lot. I don’t think I’ll be going to SENSORIUM, but you might be, David; you’re young enough perhaps. But it sounds fantastic. Thanks, Barney. You talked about the importance of the brain, the importance of age, which is right from the beginning to best way to treat hearing loss is early, and the range of services that Better Hearing provides and SENSORIUM sounds like an exciting thing in the future.

Lize Coettzee is now our second last speaker. She’s from Ear Science Institute. Lize is married, has been for four years. She was born in Upington, South Africa, somewhere near Durban. She arrived in Australia in 2001. She then went to University of WA and did a masters of clinical audiology and has spent nine years at Ear Science Institute.

[Applause]

LIZE COETZEE: Thank you so much for having me today. My name is Lize. I’m a passionate audiologist in clinical services at Ear Science Institute Australia. My journey with hearing started very many years ago when my brother was diagnosed with a hearing loss. As a young girl I attended every hearing test, I attended the discussion about what our options were, I attended the hearing aid fitting and the rehabilitation. So I have been acutely aware for really my whole life about the importance of a good audiologist, accurate and reliable testing, and good technology. But, more importantly, I have been aware and I know how important it is the care that is provided through that whole process, and the importance of that process taking into consideration our individual needs‑‑our families’ needs and what we needed. That is the approach I take every single day when making decisions in the clinics: is this good enough for my brother? I truly believe that every service, every appointment should take that individual client’s needs into account. So everybody will here have individual needs and individual views on how your hearing loss should be managed. So I would like to stress that whilst I have been asked today to talk our services and the technology available, and the amplification solutions available at Ear Science Institute Australia, we understand and respect all modes of communication.

So a little about Ear Science Institute Australia. We are a not‑for‑profit research institute, with a vision as a centre of excellence enhancing the lives of people with hearing and ear disorders. We do that through multiple activities. Firstly, education, where we educate GPs, nurses, medical students, care staff, audiologists‑‑we really have a focus to make sure people are aware of hearing. Our community, again, has really a focus on increasing awareness of hearing loss in the general community. Our research is where we focus every day on how we can improve the quality of services that people receive every day, and how can we change peoples’ lives with ear and hearing disorders. Then we have a clinical division where our purpose is to improve people’s quality of life through improved communication, and we do that through two separate divisions of clinical services. We have a Lions Hearing clinics and Ear Science clinics.

We’ve heard about the statistics already today, but 466 million people have disabling hearing loss. This is a statistic brought out by the World Health Organization‑‑328 million of those are adults; a third of people over 65 have hearing loss, and one in six Australians, which is going to increase to one in four when we go to 2050. It’s something we need to address because it is increasing‑‑the prevalence will increase. This is not limited to old age. Hearing loss is not just there as we get older. There are many risk factors and conditions linked to hearing loss, cardio vascular disease and diabetes just to mention a few.

When we have hearing loss and that hearing loss affects our communication, it can lead to multiple disadvantages in our life. It can really negatively affect your life‑‑embarrassment, attention, fatigue, social embarrassment, so you don’t go out and become socially isolated. When we look at the research, we need to say what is healthy ageing? What do we need to do, when we get older, to do that well? We heard about that in the previous talk. We need that social connection. We need to feel connected to those people who are important to us. We have to have quality and we have to have quantity of social interactions. So can I propose that if we address hearing, if we improve the communication, that we can improve that connection with people, we can lead to people feeling socially connected, not feeling socially isolated and that can positively impact you as you get older. But yet, it still takes people, on average, seven years to do something about their hearing loss‑‑despite the benefits that we have already heard about today, it is still taking people a long time.

So I really want to just break this down into three really easy steps. Why is this and what can we do? Firstly, we need to identify that hearing loss. We need to identify it’s there. We need to understand and navigate the services available, and we need to take action, because sometimes we can know everything but we don’t make that final step of taking action. I will guide you through this. Check your hearing. That is the message from the World Health Organization for World Hearing Day: Check your hearing. Hearing‑‑and the reason I still call it a simple statement, but our hearing in many cases deteriorates slowly over time. We can develop compensations, so we don’t realise that the difficulties that we’re actually experiencing is because of our hearing loss; the reason we don’t want to go out anymore and socialise with our friends, maybe because “I don’t like doing that any more”, but we don’t realise it’s because of our hearing loss that we’re not doing that anymore. So check your hearing. Make it as routine as we get our eyes checked or as we go to the dentist. Let’s make it a routine that every year we check it. This is not in old age; this is from when we’re young. We don’t wait for it to become a problem.

I’ll go through our services, the services available at the institute. I can tell you about every service we have and about every technology, but what I really want to more go over is our approach‑‑the way we approach the services that we offer, the solutions that we have available, and the locations where you can find these services.

We have got two different, or two separate units within Ear Science Institute Australia. We have Lions Hearing Clinic which offers the adult hearing services, concentrating more on hearing aids and assistive listening devices. Within Lions Hearing Clinic, we also offer tinnitus services and hearing testing for children. So this is not children with long‑standing or diagnosed hearing loss; this is just those who might have an ear infection so we can test them and get them some help for the teachers if there is just a hearing loss for a short period of time. In our Ear Science Clinic, this is where we concentrate on hearing implantable solutions‑‑so cochlear implants are obviously a very big part of this, but we offer balance services, so for people who struggle with balance they can have the testing and rehabilitation.

Our approach within the hearing journey is we do a hearing test. We then discuss the solutions that are available for you based on all your hearing results. We do the fitting. We ensure that you have adequate follow‑up. If you need anything in between, we provide those services and encourage a yearly annual review to ensure you continue to get that benefit.

What makes us different is our approach in how we do that. We make sure that it is individualised, that it’s based on your needs, because two people are not the same. We can’t do the same for every person. We need to guide you through that journey differently. We include your family, because hearing loss affects your communication. Your communication affects your family and friends. We want to include them and see how we can really improve the communication. You are the guide through this process. We are there to support you, but we put you in the driving seat of making that decision of what’s best for you. There are no commissions in what the audiologist would receive in making that recommendation. We really can make a recommendation based on your individual needs. The appointments are unlimited. We want to make sure that we empower you, that you don’t have to come back to the clinic all the time because we know that is a stress. We all have to work, but those appointments are available. The technology is making that easier now as well, with there being the availability of having remote follow‑ups and adjustments on hearing devices.

Medical approach‑‑ o we always include the doctors where possible or where needed and there’s a full range of hearing services or solutions available, and that results in quality outcomes.

So we have heard a little bit about the solutions available for hearing and at the Ear Science Institute with Lions Hearing Clinic and Ear Science Clinic we offer the full range. So it could be as simple as communication strategies for pose people whose hearing loss is not as severe enough to warrant amplification, but just strategies on how you can benefit or improve your communication with those people important to you. Assistive listening device‑‑the there might be one situation where you have difficulty, like the TV where the headphones for the TV will work perfectly fine in situation. A full range of hearing aids from multiple manufacturers so we can get the features that match you. Cochlear implant, bone conduction implants and whatever meets your hearing needs.

There are extensive funding options available for the hearing services program. We have the Department of Veteran Affairs; there’s Medicare funding, NDIS and also privately‑funded solutions. There are many locations across WA‑‑north is Joondalup and south is Bunbury and lots of locations in between. So I’d like to encourage all of you to take action today. Book in that hearing test. The Lions Hearing Clinics are offering the free hearing screening for the month of March in support of Hearing Awareness Week and of the WHO message of check your hearing. Thank you so much for listening.

[Applause]

BARRY MacKINNON: Thanks, Lize, very much. We’ve had a broad range of speeches this morning and the final is Emma Chaffey. Before I do that, Lize has highlighted the point that has been made throughout this morning. There are individual needs; individuals will be dealt with differently. But in Lize’s case, she said make sure you identify the type of hearing loss you have‑‑there are a range of services available from Ear Science‑‑and then take action to address it.

Our final presentation is from Emma Chaffey. She is from the Chair of the WA chapter of Audiology Australia. She has a Bachelor of Science and honours in audiology and psychology at UWA. She’s has been employed at Australian Hearing and is in working in the area of complex adult and paediatric rehabilitation. I thought it was important to have someone like Emma to give us an idea that if you go to Ear Science or wherever you go, what are the things you should be looking from an audiologist. Thank you over to you.

[Applause]

EMMA CHAFFEY: It is fantastic for Audiology Australia as a professional body to be included in an event like this, yet so much of what has already been said is in my presentation. Hopefully I don’t repeat too much however it is fantastic that so much of what we are trying to get across is reinforced in the community. I’m chairing the WA chapter of Audiology Australia. Our primary role is to strengthen the profession with training, advocacy in the community for audiology and for better hearing health. I must just‑‑I have called this audiology awareness for Hearing Awareness Week.

I wanted to start with what our mission station is and how audiologists view themselves. Our primary role is to work with clients to preserve, to manage and to improve their hearing and their ability to process sounds. Audiologists can help a whole range of ages, from infants to older adults, and also people with quite complex needs, to communicate and interact in all situations. I wanted to make a distinction that the audiologists in Australia should have a Masters of Clinical Audiology, or an equivalent qualification in another country as well as having done exams. They are a highly‑trained professional, different from an audiometrist or a hearing screener you might see in the community. I also wanted to highlight a couple of things‑‑I don’t think the slides have worked so I haven’t highlighted the things I wanted. But I wanted to highlight: Who are our clients? What do we mean by preserve manage and improve? What do we mean by complex needs? What do we mean by communicate and interact?

I think these stats have been spoken about quite a lot. This gives a visual representation on just how significant the portion of people with hearing loss are as older adults. You can see a majority of people by the time they turn 70 will have a hearing loss in the better ear. So the consumers of audiology services in Australia are primarily older Australians. The skills that audiologists have fall in two main distinctions: A diagnostic skill, so being able to test hearing, doing advanced physiological testing, testing auditory function of processing and also testing our balance; and the other important one is oral rehabilitation. When I say “rehabilitation”, I mean any intervention that seeks to minimise the impact hearing loss has. That doesn’t necessarily need to be just devices; it can be training and it can also be counselling, information counselling, support for the individual on understanding why things are the way they are, what can be done about it and then partnering with them to minimise that impact. I have also mentioned tinnitus assessment and management, because that’s also a major part of the hearing loss or the hearing health industry.

Going on to talk about preserving, managing improving. By preservation we mostly mean education‑‑trying to minimise the preventable causes of hearing loss, and I really want to emphasise hearing protection. That’s at any age‑‑it’s never too late to start with hearing protection. Noise is such a major cause of hearing loss around the world, so solutions for hearing protection we really want to drum into the community, I think. Possibly some wax removal, if that’s appropriate and connecting you with other referral pathways if needed.

We move on to management. This is more about the rehabilitation program. So how we manage and minimise the impacts of hearing loss. How are we getting you to communicate effectively and in an easy way with the people who are important to you? That could also be how do we help in the workplace as well. Then improving‑‑we mean training, so that’s communication training, but also training to use devices that have been prescribed. Devices are getting ever more complicated and they are ever more diverse, so training to use those devices effectively.

Connecting with other support services like we have heard of today, then making sure that you have that appropriate referrals if medical intervention is needed.

Where might you see an audiologist? You see them in a hospital. That could be diagnostic audiology or hearing testing that helps with the medical management of other medical conditions. That could be through surgery through implanted devices. It could be monitoring your ear health. It could be a balance assessment or rehabilitation as well. The other part you might see is in the clinic. This is probably where a majority of audiologists in Australia work and the majority of services that are available. We have diagnostic audiology. That is primarily for the intention of prescribing devices or matching a rehabilitation program for the individual. Also, it can be about tinnitus and noise consultations as well. In terms of funding, which is often a bit unsure, if you have not taken the step to meet with an audiologist and query funding. Primarily the hospitals are mostly publicly funded but there are some private fees that would need to be paid for audiology services within a hospital context. You would primarily need to be referred into the hospital system. There is a mixture of private and government‑sponsored, or government‑supported, services in the clinics. By “government‑supported”, I mean the voucher program which is available for people over 65 on a pension or other full pension. That would allow you to have subsidised services and devices through certain clinics. There is also a significant private fee‑paying option in those clinics as well.

I’ve put this shop on the end as well. It might be an interesting one to touch on‑this kind of over‑the‑counter retail option with hearing devices. I mean off‑the shelf devices, where you’ve had no formal assessment done and possibly haven’t got a great deal of interaction with the person you’re buying these products from. I have put a question mark here because audiologists as a profession don’t interact with these services often. They can be convenient and they are well marketed in some areas of the community. But as audiologists, we haven’t had a lot to do with them because they don’t often meet our standard of clinical care. However, I think as the industry diversifies and the technology available diversifies, you may be seeing audiologists more in this retail aspect of audiology. It is a private space. There is no government funding for these off‑the‑shelf devices, so using your discretion when you interact with these devices is really important.

Then talking about what to expect when you see an audiologist. It is quite difficult for me from the professional body to give you an exact sense of how you might interact with each individual company, but I certainly wanted to give you an idea of the standard of care that you should expect. This patient‑centred care model, which is about individual tailored rehabilitation program, making sure that your needs are met in partnership with your audiologist, not the audiologist taking you down a path that you don’t understand and that you don’t want and that doesn’t meet your needs. So care is personalised, care is coordinated with other services and care is enabling, making sure that dignity and compassion and respect are utmost throughout the rehabilitation program. I think if you’re not finding that within your audiology service or your individual audiologist, seek to find someone who can you trust, making sure that you do try to make them understand you as an individual. Give them your personal goals, who are important to you, and what outcomes you want to see, hoping that they are going to be able to meet that challenge and then maybe that there is another individual that would better suit your need.

I think with this one‑‑seeing the audiologist early, making sure that your needs are addressed before they have become really significant and complex. Hearing loss is like a chronic illness. It may affect you for many, many years, so starting early and forming that partnership with the audiologist is very important.

I have this little cartoon here. This is obviously the patient at the centre but not patient‑centred care. An audiologist wants to strengthen our profession by improving the services they provide and holding them to account for the services they provide.

Finally, what you might see in the future of audiology. I wanted to put this graph. It talks about the market penetration of hearing aids within a hearing loss population. You can see in that mild hearing loss, it’s only 10 per cent of people using devices. Audiologists are really focusing on what is it about the services and technology that are not meeting the needs of the other 90 per cent or the other 50 per cent of moderate and 30 per cent of profound hearing loss … what is it about those services and technology that are not meeting the needs and how can we change things so that they are. This could be for a range of ways. Maybe online services‑‑I know more businesses are developing online or remote consultations or remote adjustments for their devices. I think that will have a big impact on people. It could be self‑fitting devices, things you can do in the comfort of your home, or fully implanted devices. The diversification, I think, is really what we’re talking about, so diversification of what is available and what assistive technologies might be available.

Then I wanted to touch very quickly on changes to the fee structure. I think there is a push to de‑couple the services and the fees that you have away from just focusing on devices, maybe de‑coupling them to what services that audiologists are providing as well. I know that fees and funding‑‑it’s always tight in the health industry, and so I strongly encourage, if you wanted to speak during the morning tea break, about those changes and what may occur later down the track. Please come and talk to me.

When I said we want to hold audiologists to account, please get in contact with the professional body if you have concerns. There is an independent complaints process, and if you’ve got tips or some advice or questions for the profession, please get in touch. Please take our details if you would like to and we encourage you to be engaged with the profession. Thanks.

[Applause]

BARRY MacKINNON: Thanks we’ll break for morning tea. But a couple of points that Emma touched on that haven’t been touched on earlier. One, I think, is that in this whole hearing loss area, tinnitus is a key issue. Of course, you might not have a hearing problem, but you may have tinnitus. There are a range of services available in that area she just highlighted. Also the question of hearing protection. We should protect the hearing we have. That needs to be emphasised over and again. It’s been an interesting morning. The point that has been made over and over is that hearing loss is an individual thing. It will affect everybody in a different way. There are a range of services to address that. The point that Lynnette made is also very important. We found as a family, when our son was diagnosed, some of the best information you get is, with all due respect to professionals, talking to other people about the range of services and what happens to you. Please discuss it and make sure you share your thoughts with other people and find out what’s appropriate for you.

Please join us for morning tea and we’ll have a presentation from the Deaf Arts and our Q&A session. Thank you very much.

[Applause]

[Morning tea break]

BARRY MacKINNON: Can I have your attention, please. Can you please take your seats?

Please take your seats, ladies and gentlemen.

Julie Edmonds, can you please come down? Julie is going to introduce the Deaf Arts people. Julie, as you probably know, has been very active in supporting in supporting the Deafness Council for a long time. She is president of Better Hearing WA. Julie is involved also in the Transplant Australia. Julie told me this some time ago now, she donated her kidney 39 years ago.

[Applause]

She’s a kindred spirit with my wife. I don’t know why my wife’s kidney was in better shape than mine. I am at a loss as to how that happened, but it did! Julie is going to introduce WA Deaf Arts.

JULIE EDMONDS: I haven’t got a microphone. As Barry told you, I’m Julie Edmonds. I’m about to introduce Western Australian Deaf Arts. WA Deaf Arts was a concept started in 2010. They’ve been going for quite some time. It’s a wonderful group of people. There are many more than who are here today. The ones here today are a just small snippet of who we have; we have children and many people who work and can’t come along. The journey over the last nine years has been interesting to say the least, but I’m so proud of no matter what has gone on that rollercoaster ride, they have kept on going and they’re here today to perform for you. I would like them to come up. While they’re doing that, they have done performances, they did a cabaret performance. They did a performance for young children several years ago. They were also asked to perform at the Concert Hall, which they did and they were fantastic. Verity James from the ABC said it was the most moving act she has ever seen. I was very proud of them too. They’re going to help the Sensorium boys with the SENSORIUM. Good thing to know is one of the boys helped WA Deaf Arts when they did their performances. More recently they’ve been invited to Denmark to join the Denmark Festival of Voice. They’re going to visit the children learning Auslan, work with them and do performances. I would like to introduce Kerry Brock, and Rae Gibson. They are both co‑director of WA Deaf Arts, along the front we have Christine Lee, Anne, Rae, who I just introduced, Janelle, along the back we have Scott Warner. Scott is always good for a laugh. Jeffery Scott, we have Susan and Julian MacDonald. I will get Kerry to give you all a quick snippet of the songs we’re about to perform.

KERRY: Hi, everyone. We chose three songs today. The first one is by an Australian artist Mama Kin. It’s call “Beat and holler”. It’s a nice simple song, just to get you in the mood. It’s basically “We’re not going to sit here and let you sit back and watch, you’ve got to play with us, you’ve got to have fun.” The second song I would love you to get in the groove with us. I’ll introduce that quickly next time. And the third song I would like you to join in the chorus. Next year we’ll have you all up on stage. Shall we do it?

# (drum beat)