14October2015

From ABC TVs 7.30 Report

Free hearing checks are becoming common in suburban
shopping centres across Australia, but if you take up the
offer, you may be surprised to learn the person testing you
probably has no qualifications.

Better Hearing Consumer writes

Recently several articles on what NOT to say to deaf people
have been floating on Facebook. Although Im no longer
insulted by most of them, once in a while I have to grab my
chin to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor.

Sport for deaf, hard of hearing youth

Rugby League Immortal, Wally Lewis and daughter JamieLee told federal parliamentarians this week about the benefits
young people gain in personal and social skills, and health
and well-being.

Annual General Meeting

The Deafness Forum of Australia Annual General Meeting will
be held in Sydney on Saturday 28 November.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, and their

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

Program transcript
Broadcast on ABC Television, 5 October 2015
LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Free hearing checks are becoming common in suburban
shopping centres across Australia, but if you take up the offer, you may be surprised to
learn the person testing you probably has no qualifications. They'll also earn a commission
on whatever product they sell you. It's an unregulated industry and experts warn people
are increasingly falling victim to predatory sales practices and misdiagnoses. Elysse Morgan
reports.
ELYSSE MORGAN, REPORTER: It's after-school drama class at Waverley Primary in
Sydney's east and one of the loudest in the group is Tobian Jones.
It's remarkable because Tobian was born profoundly deaf. He got his first hearing aids at
just three months old.
It's not just hearing aids that allow Tobian to thrive in a normal classroom.
What do you like to do best in class?
TOBIAN JONES, STUDENT: Ah, maths. Yeah and play. And doing the sports and doing
music. I love things.
KIM WILLIAMS, SUPPORT TEACHER: We have some excellent technology in place in the
classroom. This Dynamic is a remote microphone. It sends the signal straight to Tobian's
hearing aids. This FM is also a remote microphone. He can carry this around the school
when he goes off to sport or music. This can go up to each teacher.
ELYSSE MORGAN: It's expensive technology facilitated by qualified staff and paid for by the
Federal Government agency Australian Hearing.
Tobian's father Alex, who's also profoundly deaf, understands the value of Australian
Hearing. We speak to him through an interpreter.
ALEX JONES, TOBIAN'S FATHER (translator): If he didn't have those supports, I'm reluctant

to say, but I don't think he'd be happy. He wouldn't be able to communicate with his
friends. And maybe not as confident as he is now.
ELYSSE MORGAN: This could all be in jeopardy if the Federal Government goes ahead with
plans to privatise the agency.
ALEX JONES (translator): Why would the Australian Government privatise for something
that is working? It's working.
GIRL (Australian Hearing ad): Before, when we played Chinese whispers, I would always
mess up the word and my friends would always blame it on me. But now that I have my
hearing aids, I can hear the word on the first go and it's really cool.
ELYSSE MORGAN: As well as providing subsidised care to children and pensioners,
Australian Hearing also competes with the private sector, selling hearing aids to the general
population. It's a lucrative business making $12 million last year and it led the National
Commission
of
Audit
to
recommend
the
agency
be
privatised.
ALEX JONES (translator): That's the terrifying bit for us, it's so terrifying. It's vital for deaf
children all around Australia to privatise Australian Hearing that would lead to risk, risk
where children aren't well looked after.
ELYSSE MORGAN: Privatisation will open up all of Australian hearing to competition, but
that choice isn't necessarily a good thing.
BILL VASS, DOCTOR OF AUDIOLOGY: I think that parents are going to be finding it very
difficult to find out who they can trust.
ELYSSE MORGAN: Bill Vass is a doctor of audiology.
qualifications are needed to work in the industry.

He's worried that no formal

BILL VASS: In the private sector, the regulation is totally absent. Anyone can sell hearing
aids
or
pretend
to
provide
the
services
to
hearing-impaired
people.
ELYSSE MORGAN: The major hearing aid manufacturers already own hundreds of clinics
throughout Australia. One of these companies is likely to buy Australian Hearing.
MAN (Advertisement): Something this good, however, must cost you an arm and a leg.
MAN II: Not at all.

Our cost isn't much more than a daily cup of coffee.

MAN : A cup of coffee. That is very affordable.

ELYSSE MORGAN: Slick ad campaigns and free hearing tests are used to lure in clients like
retiree Marcel Jones, who thought his hearing was going.
MARCEL JONES, RETIREE: So I went in and made an appointment for a free hearing test
and the test went for about 15 to 20 minutes. And at the end of the test, I was told,
"You're definitely a candidate for hearing aids."
ELYSSE MORGAN: Marcel had no idea the clinic was owned by hearing aid manufacturer
intent on profit and he didn't check their qualifications.
MARCEL JONES: She only told me that they range from $2,000 to $10,000. I couldn't do
with anything under the $10,000 for my problem. She was really a trained salesperson.
And I got sort of - felt that I couldn't say no.
That was the position.
LOUISE COLLINGRIDGE, INDEPENDENT AUDIOLOGIST: The tricky part for someone
entering a clinic that's owned by a hearing aid manufacturer is that there they may be led
to believe that the only solution for them is the hearing aid that they are offered.
ELYSSE MORGAN: There are often big commissions on offer for those selling the hearing
aids and high sales targets.
LOUISE COLLINGRIDGE: I certainly myself have worked in a clinic where there was an
expectation of a certain amount of turnover in every month. And in spite of being a very
experienced audiologist and in spite of valuing codes of ethics and considering myself able
to make clinical judgments, I found it very difficult to put that out of my mind for the
reason that we're all - we're all in the workplace to please our management.
ELYSSE MORGAN: The competition watchdog, the ACCC, is so concerned about misleading
and unfair sales practices in audiology, it's launched an inquiry into the matter.
As Tobian grows, he'll need new hearing aids and ongoing therapy. He and his family will
have to find their own way through an unregulated and profit-driven industry.

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Have you heard?

By Gael Hannan
Recently several articles on what NOT to say to deaf people have been floating on
Facebook. I understand the writers exasperation, having been on the receiving end of
many of the comments. Although Im no longer insulted by most of them, once in a while I
have to grab my chin to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor.
The inane remarks usually just reveal a profound ignorance about how hard of hearing or
deaf people communicate. This is not their issue; they are asking questions out of
curiosity. My dad always joked, when I asked him a question he couldnt answer, But you
keep asking those questions, honey. Thats how you learn stuff.
So, hearing people, heres something to learn: when a person tells you they are deaf or
hard of hearing, you really dont want to say:
Oh, youd never know to look at you! (We dont see this as a compliment)
And yet you speak so well! (Ditto)
How do you drive a car? (Youre kidding me, right?)
Can you read? (Ive never been asked this, but friends of mine have. If someone did ask,
Id reply, Only if the words are simple, with big letters. And the pictures help, duh)
Do you use Braille? (Oh, please, kill me now!)
More forgivable, although irritating to people with hearing loss who use spoken language
and are, like, actually speaking with this person, Do you do, you know, the signing?
Hearing people find sign language beautiful and fascinating which it is but they extend
the idealistic admiration to the signers themselves, simply for being Deaf. (Hearing people
arent quite so starry-eyed about us oral folk with hearing loss.) This placing-on-a-pedestal
is a source of annoyance to people with disabilities; we like to earn our hero status through
something we have actually accomplished rather than for something we have no control
over.
The Better Hearing Consumer the source of this article - addresses the personal
experience of living with hearing loss. Editor Gael Hannan, and her occasional guest
bloggers, explore every corner of the hearing loss life with humor and poignancy. Read
more of this article at http://hearinghealthmatters.org/betterhearingconsumer/

Rugby League Immortal, Wally Lewis and his daughter Jamie-Lee were special
guests at a briefing held in Canberra this week for federal politicians.
The theme of a dinner at Parliament House, presented by Deafness Forum and Deaf Sports
Australia, was participation in sports for deaf and hard of hearing children; and the benefits
they gain in personal and social skills, and health and well-being.
Wally Lewis AM, regarded as one of the greatest rugby league players of all time told
parliamentarians about his familys experience.
The 12th of June, 1991 was a day I will never forget. The doctor told us, "I am sorry to
tell you, your daughter is profoundly deaf."
My wife collapsed to the floor and the doctor spoke to me for the next 10 minutes about
everything we should know. I don't remember anything the doctor said.
I went back to the (rugby league) team hotel, walking away from my wife and daughter, I
felt like a disgrace to the family. How could I help them at this stage? But I had
something else to try to achieve that night, a State of Origin match.
I walked into the dressing room and I had made up my mind within seconds. I walked up
to Toss (Dick Turner) and said, "Mate, this will be the last one, I have more important
things in my life."
Jamie-Lee Lewis said it was important to encourage young people to be active.
I remember kids at sports back in the day. Most of them didn't know each other. They
were scared and didn't want to be there.

We need more awareness and funding so we can help youths to have better support for
their future, like sports, getting jobs, and going to school and university, Jamie-Lee said.

Photo at left: Deafness Forum chairman David Brady, Senator Bridget McKenzie (Nationals
Party Whip in the Senate) with Wally Lewis. At right: Deaf Sports Australia chairman Phil
Harper, CEO Garry West-Bail and Irena Farinacci.
A message was read from Kevan Gosper AO, former athlete and past Vice President of the
International Olympic Committee.
Unable to communicate as easily as others, some hearing impaired youngsters are inclined
to feel more isolated and without the benefits of group activities risk lacking self
confidence.
These young people deserve equal opportunity and fundamental to all of this is financial
backing. Continued, increased and ongoing government support is essential." Kevan
Gosper said.

Special Minister of State Mal Brough MP, Warren Entsch MP, Sue Brough, with Wally and
Jamie-Lee.

Wally and Jamie-Lee Lewis want hearing health and well-being to be a national priority in
Australia.
Its affecting one in six young Australians and it is something they struggle to deal with for
a considerable length of time.
If given the right advice along the way, they can develop into fine young Australians that
enjoy life just as much as everybody here tonight is fortunate enough to do so, Wally said.
Deafness Forum chairman, David Brady acknowledged the Australian Government has
some components in place for what could be a world-class hearing health and well-being
program.
The narrow framing of the Governments approach is demonstrated by the fact that most
people with hearing loss will not be able to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme
because their hearing loss is not assessed as having an impact on their lives.
What is missing is an over-arching, integrated policy, including a strategy for raising
awareness in the community and educating service providers.
Deafness in its varying degrees and the way its experienced is one of the most
misunderstood disabilities, and because its invisible, its overlooked, neglected and
forgotten, David Brady said.

The dinner was an opportunity to also raise awareness among politicians of the value of
captions at public events, in education settings and in government services.
Ai-media chief executive Tony Abrahams (second from right) explained to Dr Andrew
Laming MP, "Ai-Live is available at no cost to individuals in the workplace through the
Employment Assistance Fund, and the NDIS."

People with a common form of hearing loss not helped by hearing aids achieved
significant and sometimes profound improvements in their hearing and
understanding of speech with hybrid cochlear implant devices.
Researchers at 10 medical centers and private clinics in the United States implanted hybrid
cochlear implants into one ear of 50 men and women. All study volunteers had badly
damaged high-frequency, inner-ear hair cells, which prevented them from understanding
speech, especially in the presence of background noise. All still had sufficient lowfrequency hearing, which allowed them to tell apart some sounds and forestalled any use
of a regular cochlear implant.
A year after receiving the device, 45 study participants showed overall improvement in their
hearing and speech recognition, and no one's hearing and speech recognition got worse.
The hybrid implant differs from the traditional device in that it has a shorter electrode (less
than 2 centimeters long) that does not have to be inserted as deeply into the spiral-shaped
sensory structure (the cochlea) in the inner ear. When placed correctly, the technique
preserves more residual, natural, low-frequency hearing and augments high-frequency
hearing with electrical stimulation.
The loss of high-frequency hearing had left all study participants "in a difficult spot." Many
were failing at work and in social environments because of their inability to hear and
understand speech.
From Science Daily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150728120202.htm

NDIS Transition Planning Workshops

A series of transition workshops were held in August and September 2015. A summary of the
issues raised at the transition workshops and the powerpoint presentation are available
below.

Background
By mid-2019, when the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is fully rolled out, a
significant portion of existing Community Service Obligations (CSO) clients and some other
eligible clients who currently receive services under the Hearing Services
Program (the program) will transfer to the NDIS to receive hearing services.
It is important that this transition is as seamless as possible and that those elements of the
program which work well for clients are not lost. To minimise risks to client outcomes,
stakeholder consultation will be ongoing during the period leading up to mid-2019. The NDIS
Transition Planning workshops signal the commencement of this process and stakeholder
engagement.

The workshops and proposed work packages

Workshops were held in Sydney and Brisbane in August 2015 and in Melbourne and Perth in
September 2015, with the intent that further workshops will be scheduled provided that there
is sufficient interest (noting a further planning workshop is scheduled for Adelaide in October
2015).
The aim of the workshops is to share information about the NDIS and hearing services and to
consult with stakeholders on the activities which will need to form the high level transition
plan, including identifying and describing the critical pieces of work that need to occur to
support the transition. Consistent with the partnership approach required for transition
planning, representatives from the Department of Social Services and the National Disability
Insurance Agency (NDIA) also attended the workshops.

Office of Hearing Services

www.hearingservices.gov.au

1800 500 726

hearing@health.gov.au

Twelve proposed work packages identified as necessary for transition informed the
direction and group discussions of the workshops, as follows

Access to the NDIS (eligibility)

Paediatric referral pathway and national data collection
Quality safeguards and client outcomes
Engagement and communication
Hearing related supports (devices and therapies)
Pricing of these supports and funding
Supply of hearing devices
Rural and remote access
Roles and boundaries (including support for children at risk of permanent hearing
loss)
New arrangements for the Hearing Services Program
Legislation changes
Transition governance

The Office of Hearing Services (the Office) appreciates the high level of interest in these
initial workshops from a broad range of stakeholders including: representatives from
existing contracted service providers, Practitioner Professional Bodies, hearing
practitioners, parents of children with hearing loss, early intervention service providers,
hearing loss and early intervention services advocacy groups for both adults and children,
representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocacy groups,
representatives from rural and remote service delivery agencies, researchers, device
manufacturers, and representatives from hearing resource centres.
The broad mix of stakeholders at the workshops enabled wide ranging discussion
regarding service delivery considerations, including for rural and remote clients and the
unique challenges faced in these areas, as well as to draw on the experience of those
clients of the current hearing program and their perceptions of the challenges associated
with transition.

Issues raised
There are many issues which need to be worked through and the current level of
uncertainty was reflected in the discussion, in particular the need for clarity about

Eligibility requirements for the NDIS and how services are delivered
What these changes may mean for paediatric service delivery under a contestable
model
How services will be reimbursed and the schedule of fees
The role of planners and how they access expert advice to determine what hearing
related devices and therapies are reasonable and necessary to achieve a persons
individual goals
Future device supply arrangements, replacements and repairs
Office of Hearing Services

www.hearingservices.gov.au

1800 500 726

hearing@health.gov.au

The roles and boundaries for the states/territories and the Commonwealth in providing
hearing care related services in education, newborn screening, primary care settings
(hospitals, community and outreach settings), health programs and social services.
Stakeholders also identified the need to

Maintain access to quality paediatric services without compromising the current

paediatric referral pathway upon identification of hearing loss
Preserve access to services for clients in rural and remote areas, including the need
for services to be targeted and appropriate for each community
Monitor the application of the NDIS access criteria and provision for any program
clients who are ineligible for the NDIS
Ensure that clients continue to receive appropriate services by qualified
practitioners under a quality assured framework
Protect the independence of clinical advice for parents/guardians of infants/young
children with hearing loss
Develop a national clinical data collection for all clients receiving government
funded hearing services
Develop a strong communication strategy and maintain active engagement with key
stakeholders with targeted communications for different cohorts
Consider future supports such as the use of tele-practice models for service
delivery.

Next steps
The key areas identified by stakeholders fit within one or more of the twelve proposed
work packages, which will form the foundation of a NDIS Transition Plan. A
Communications Strategy will also be developed to support the Transition Plan. Over the
coming months these documents will be developed and placed on the Office of Hearing
Services website, along with further updates and opportunities for stakeholders to be
involved in the activities needed to support the transition.
The Office is committed to ensuring a smooth transition and will continue to update
stakeholders as work continues on the Transition Plan. It is likely that further workshops
will occur and interested parties are encouraged to register for these workshops on the
program website at www.hearingservices.gov.au.
Also, you can subscribe to the RSS feed on the programs website which will be updated
routinely to provide further information to clients, providers and other interested groups
regarding the transition of hearing services to the NDIS.

Office of Hearing Services

www.hearingservices.gov.au

1800 500 726

hearing@health.gov.au

Notice of Annual General Meeting

The Deafness Forum of Australia Annual General Meeting will be held in Sydney on
Saturday 28 November.
University of NSW, Kensington campus
AGSM Building
Gate 11, Botany St, Kensington
Free off-street car parking
Frequent buses depart Central Railway Station for a journey of approximately 25 minutes
Light luncheon from 12.30pm
Meeting commences 1.30pm and is expected to run for 90 minutes
Principal business
Minutes of the previous annual general meeting
Receipt of the annual report and audited financial statements
Appointment of auditor
Declaration of election of directors
Proxies
A member unable to attend the Annual General Meeting may appoint a person as their
representative. By giving your proxy to a representative, your vote will be counted the
same as if you were voting in person. S/he need not be a member of Deafness Forum, but
must be present at the Annual General Meeting. Alternatively, a member may appoint the
chairperson of the meeting as their representative.
Some members will be entitled to two proxies they may be both a member of Deafness
Forum and an authorised representative of an organisation that is a member of Deafness
Forum.
If you wish to obtain a proxy form, drop us a line at info@deafnessforum.org.au

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