One in 10 disadvantaged Australian children may suffer from hearing loss and almost one in three a dysfunctional middle ear, a new research paper shows, prompting calls for targeted screening.
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Researchers from Sydney's Macquarie University have analysed screening results of 2489 NSW children from lower socio-economic backgrounds between 2013 and 2016.
More than 40 per cent of the kids - who had a median age of 11 - did not pass their hearing test, according to the paper published in peer-reviewed journal Public Health Research and Practice on Thursday.
The authors found 11.5 per cent of the children had hearing loss and 28.9 per cent presented with middle ear dysfunction.
Younger children were more likely to have middle ear dysfunction, while a higher proportion of Aboriginal children and those from migrant backgrounds were identified as having hearing or ear problems.
The authors - Catherine McMahon, Jade McLennan, Neil Orr, Kai Nash and Phillip Nakad - say mild hearing loss can lead to poor outcomes for younger children.
"Undetected hearing loss during the critical period of neurocognitive development can have significant consequences for their speech and language development, educational achievement, and neurocognitive and social-emotional growth," the study reads.
The coronavirus pandemic-related disruption to face-to-face learning may "widen the gap in the future", they add.
Australia currently has no national school screening programs for middle ear disease and hearing loss, with their cost-effectiveness described as "debated and poorly understood".
Nevertheless, advocacy group Soundfair says the research, which it co-sponsored, demonstrates the nation's hearing healthcare is not fit for purpose
Along with the Macquarie University study authors, it has contributed to an accompanying editorial calling for a national action plan to address inequities.
"By 2050, it is predicted that one in four Australians will be living with hearing loss," Soundfair chief executive Dr Caitlin Barr said.
"For far too long hearing loss has been stigmatised rather than widely acknowledged as experience that requires society-wide action."
Australian Associated Press
