Dr Traci Flynn, Ms. Carrie Sutherland, Ms Lara Hernandez, Ms Laura Button, Ms Yaeln Kim, Ms Tessa Barrie
1Hearing Australia, Sydney, Australia
“Without data you’re just another person with an opinion” W. Edwards Deming
As part of Hearing Australia’s First Nations Unit, Listen to Learn program offers professional development and onsite screening and diagnostics for ear and hearing health for all children aged 3 to 8 years attending early childhood education or school. Listen to Learn was created through co-design with education, health, and First Nations peak bodies (e.g., Early Childhood Australia, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)) throughout Australia and in each state and territory to address the opportunities and barriers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children accessing ear and hearing healthcare.
The aim of the project is to understand the prevalence of ear disease and hearing loss in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous children aged 3 to 8 years of age. Ear health and hearing status of all children attending 10 kindergartens and 20 schools in the first year of school, Year 1, and Year 2 were screened. Children were referred to a health practitioner for ear disease, referred to an audiologist for a hearing assessment, or were reviewed in three months. Children who were referred to a health practitioner for ear disease were followed up three months later. This follow up ensured all children with ear disease were seen again to assess their hearing status. All outcomes will be presented, and a review of the screening process and prevalence of ear disease and hearing loss will be discussed with respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous children.
Biography:
Dr Traci Flynn holds a PhD and is the Senior Speech Pathologist within the First Nations Unit at Hearing Australia. She works across the First Nations Unit with the Hearing Assessment Program Early Ears (HAPEE), Listen to Learn, and Outreach. Traci is also affiliated with the University of Newcastle as a Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology. Her research focuses on children with mild hearing loss and their language development and quality of life.
traci.flynn@hearing.com.au