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Norma Benger Chidanpee
Norma Benger Chidanpee
When babies are born in the dry season this is also the time of the birth of the dragonfly, which hums and buzzes around the air excited about the birth of the new season.
The grandmothers catch the dragonflies to test babies' hearing, making them buzz near the babies' ears. When a baby responds we know that they have good hearing....
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News and events
This section contains news items and information about upcoming events of relevance to Indigenous ear health and hearing, as well as media releases and news articles.
News items and media releases
Doctors flag lack of coordination in Indigenous intervention
View news item: ABC (14 August 2008)
Govt pledges $4.4m for Indigenous ear disease screening
View news item: ABC (17 July 2008)
New moves on plight, so easy to fix
View
news item: Alice Springs News (19 June 2008)
Vaccine to treat chronic ear problems
View news transcript: ABC World today (28 May 2008)
Researchers hope to slash Indigenous ear disease rate
View news item: ABC (28 May 2008)
Indigenous ear health labelled an 'emergency'
View news item: ABC (8 April 2008)
Harvey Coates, Ear drops and ototoxicity
View item: Australian Prescriber (April 2008)
Nearly all Indigenous kids in NT have hearing problems: expert
View news item: ABC (27 February 2008)
Doctors, dentists needed for NT
View news item: Heraldsun.com.au (26 February 2008)
NT calls for doctors for intervention
View news item: ABC news (23 February 2008)
Territorians recognised in Aust Day awards
Rebecca Allnut's work in Indigenous ear health as the district manager of Australian Hearing, Alice Springs, has been recognised with the award of an Australia Day Public Service Medal.
View news item: ABC (26 January 2008)
New hearing test available on the phone
View news item: ABC (17 January 2008)
Ear Science Institute
View latest media releases
Articles
Middle ear infection in Indigenous patients
View news item: Medical Observer (15 February 2008)
New ear health web resource for Indigenous Australia
View
article: Nursing review (PDF- 64KB) (May 2007)
Change to PBS listing for chronic suppurative otitis media
The Rational Assessment of Drugs and Research (RADAR) reports that Ciprofloxacin ear drops (Ciloxan) were listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme on 1 April 2007. The authority listing allows prescribing for chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
(The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is a Federal Government strategy to ensure medications are more affordable to individuals and communities.)
For further information:
View
details (under April 2007)
View
website: Rational Assessment of Drugs and Research
Black RJ, Cousins VC, Chapman P, Bevcarovski Z, Coates
HLC, et al. (2007)
Ototoxic ear drops with grommet and tympanic membrane perforations:
a position statement [letter].
Medical Journal of Australia;186(11):605-606
View
letter
Conferences
The Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association Conference: Growing the profession
5-7 September 2008, Darwin, NT
For the first time, Darwin, will host the Australian Sign Language Interpreters' Association National Conference. Approximately 150 delegates and presenters will be attending, from every state and territory in Australia, as well as further afield. Sign Language interpreters are coming from Canada, Scotland, Cambodia, Thailand and New Zealand.
The Keynote speaker at the conference is Liz Scott Gibson, who brings her experience and skills from involvement in The World Association of Sign Language Interpreters, Deaf Action (Scotland), the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI) and her role in interpreter training around the world, most recently in Swaziland and Malawi. Another highlight of the conference will be the presentation of the J W Flynn Oration. Each year, an individual is recognised for their outstanding contributions to the field of Auslan interpreting and is invited to deliver the Oration. This year the J W Flynn Orator is Patricia Levitzke-Gray, a Deaf interpreter, interpreter trainer and long-time supporter of the sign language interpreting profession.
For futher information:
View information: The Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association Conference
View website: The Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association
For upcoming conferences relevant to general Indigenous health
view the HealthInfoNet conference page.
View
conference page
For proceedings and presentations about ear health from previous
conferences, view the conference sections available on the
health and education publication pages:
View health publications
View
communication and learning publications
Events
Hearing awareness week 24 - 30 August 2008
View website: Hearing awareness week
Past events
Hear, Speak, Live Conference
4 - 7 September 2007, Gold Coast, QLD
The inaugural Hear, Speak, Live Conference was hosted by the Deadly Ears Team, the Statewide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ear Health Program from the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane. The team was established to develop and enhance access to existing identified and mainstream services provided to the Indigenous population of Queensland. The service employs a range of service delivery models, including community education and development, health promotion, speech pathology, audiology and ENT services, and consultation and liaison with respect to both local services and the development of rural and remote services.
This conference focused on otitis media and its impact on the health and well being of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children and young people. Many Indigenous children are affected by ear disease, in particular in communities with lack of access to nutritional food and health services, poor housing and overcrowding. The impact affects their hearing, learning, speech and language development, behaviour, social and emotional well being, education and future employment.
The conference showcased practical examples, successes and learnings in holistic ear management from communities across Australia.
Keynote speakers included: Professor Ken Wyatt, Director of the Office of Aboriginal Health; Dr Christopher Perry, ENT Surgeon & Associate Professor; Ms Judy Gould, Speech Pathologist; and Dr Chris Sarra, Director, Indigenous Leadership Institute. Ken Wyatt also facilitated a hypothetical session on ‘Screening fixes ear disease’. Interpreter services were provided by Lesleigh Brennan and Michael Webb.
Gould J. Ear health and Aboriginal education: examining the impact of non-Aboriginal interventions upon child outcomes
View presentation (PDF - 235KB)
Various stages of prevention were described in the sessions by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers, consultants, audiologists, speech pathologists, teachers and research officers. The importance of encouraging breastfeeding, nose blowing, regular ear checks and hearing tests were highlighted. Content of the sessions covered: raising community awareness and education; community action, preventing ear disease; access to services (screening, treatment and rehabilitation); equipment, including classroom amplification; and education. The difficulties of working in rural and remote areas and lack of access to necessary services were also emphasised.
Australian Hearing provided details of a Commonwealth Government funded program and a specialist outreach program (AHSPIA) which has been built in a targeted and sustainable way.
View information: Australian Hearing
A study called Pneumum was detailed which has been established to find out if pneumococcal immunisation of mothers in the last few months of pregnancy or at delivery can prevent ear disease in Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander infants.
View information: Menzies School of Health Research
Resources were described for ear health issues such as videos, books, posters and flipcharts. The educational, interactive DVD and other resources for ‘The Snot Song’ were launched which are intended for students and adults to use in teaching or health fields.
Traditional cultural forms of expression, such as story telling, song, dance, games and art were strongly encouraged and supported. Welcomes to country were provided by Aunty Joyce Summers and Thomas Sebasio. Delegates were entertained by the Caribunma Dancers, the Keriba Mabaigal Dance Group, the Woorabinda Drummers, and Sea World visits to Shark Bay and a dolphin show.
Two of the delegates provided the following summaries of the conference:
Cecil Brown, Hospital Community Liaison Officer, Cherbourg Community Health Service, Cherbourg, Queensland.
The most informative information that I came away with was now knowing that there are not only quite a number of dedicated Indigenous Health Workers and health professionals committed to addressing the issue of otitis media in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities but that there are also a number of Indigenous and non Indigenous people in Government and non Government agencies who are also assisting.
It was great to see all of these dedicated and passionate people coming together to share and learn from each other’s experiences.
If the problem of otitis media was this prevalent in the white community would it be fixed by now? That is the question that should be asked of the State and Federal Governments.
Jody Saxton, Deaf Indigenous Community Consultant, Shepparton, Victoria
I feel that the conference confirmed for me what I already knew regarding access and education on using a much needed visual mode of communication to enhance every opportunity for Indigenous children. My thoughts about the conference are that it was very well done by the Deadly Ears team and I had good access with interpreters that allowed me to fully participate in all the sessions.
I also believed that there are many hours, days, weeks and years to go in improving and providing the community with true access in everyday life. The solution to community is communication and as a Deaf consumer and consultant, it's paramount that options are given to children and families on better access and what is necessary for long lasting change and celebration of one's abilities and not their disabilities.
I work as a Deaf Indigenous Community Consultant based in Shepparton Victoria, however I do travel and freelance my services to provide feedback on serviced agreements, mentoring, leadership, community development and education programs as well as tutoring for families one on one in using sign language in a cultural sensitive way.
Susie Hopkins, Menzies School of Health Research and Jane Burns, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, attended the National Hear, Speak, Live Conference to promote the EarInfoNet web resource and yarning place.
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For further information about the conference contact:
- Bonny Marsh, Deadly Ears - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ear Health Program, Community Child Health Service, 184 St Paul’s Terrace, Spring Hill QLD 4002, fax: (07) 3250 8509, email: RCH-deadlyears@health.qld.gov.au, website: Queensland Health (news and events)
Jobs
Audiological Society of Australia
A range of job vacancies are posted on the website of the
Audiological Society of Australia in the members only section.
View
website: Audiological Society of Australia
Practice and Project Manager Ear Health Services
3 year full-time contract position
The Telethon Speech & Hearing Centre for Children is a Western Australian non-profit organisation that since 1967 has helped speech delayed and hearing-impaired children learn to listen and speak. The Centre is passionate about providing paediatric audiological/community services and our Ear Health Services department includes the following:
• General paediatric audiology clinic
• Enrolled student tympanometry clinic
• Private paediatric cochlear implant clinic
• GP-based ear clinic for children with hard to treat middle ear conditions
• Educational audiology program for hearing impaired children
• Mobile “Earbus” outreach program,
targeting Indigenous communities
• Newborn hearing screening program in private
WA hospitals
The centre is currently seeking an Ear Health Services Practice and Project Manager who would be required to oversee and manage administrative aspects of the audiology practice, as well as look after new and existing projects within the department.
This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced Practice Manager that will enjoy the challenges, responsibility and diversity of managing paediatric audiology clinics as well as external programs. The applicant will also be required to develop and grow the programs offered by the department.
Closing date: 21 November 2008
View job description and selection criteria
- Contact details:
- All enquiries will be dealt with in confidence with the CEO, ph: 9387 9888, Telethon Speech & Hearing, P.O. Box 186, Wembley WA 6913
Scholarships
QUOTA offers a South Pacific Area Scholarship for Work in
the Fields of Speech and Hearing.
View
information
View website:
QUOTA
Tenders
No information currently available on tenders.
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