4November2015

Australian Hearing
The transition of services from the Australian Government
Hearing Services Program to the NDIS is scheduled to occur in
2019 - 2020. If a decision is taken to privatise Australian
Hearing before crucial issues are decided, then it removes the
opportunity to provide a safety net for highly vulnerable
community groups.
My responsibility here is to assess in a corporate way the best
possible future arrangement for Australian Hearing in a
changing market for services for this demographic.

Deaflympians achievements on show

A new exhibit reflects the accomplishments of Australian deaf
athletes at the Deaflympic Games and demonstrates that you
dont need to hear to be a world-class athlete. Deaf sport in
Australia stretches right back to the 1880s, and its developed
into a strong community with significant success on the
international stage.

Improve your hearing and quality of life

Hearing impairment is associated with reduced levels of wellbeing and quality of life, e.g. a reduced response in
conversations leads to isolation, difficulty responding to
doorbells, smoke alarms, etc.

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.

Achievements of Australias Deaflympians on

display at National Sports Museum
The achievements of Australias Deaf and Hard of Hearing athletes have been recognised at
the National Sports Museum (NSM) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The new exhibit reflects the accomplishments of Australian deaf athletes at the Deaflympic
Games and demonstrates that you dont need to hear to be a world-class athlete. The
Australia at the Deaflympics showcase brings together an unmatched collection of awards,
uniforms and equipment which reflect Australias success at the highest level of
international completion.
Some of Australias most decorated Deaflympians, including Dean Barton-Smith AM, a fourtime Deaflympian as well as the first deaf competitor to represent Australia at the Olympic
Games, were on hand to help officially open the showcase.
Were delighted to give our visitors a deeper understanding of the unique sporting
challenges that Australias deaf athletes meet and overcome on their pathway to
Deaflympic success, said National Sports Museum Curator, Helen Walpole.
Deaf sport in Australia stretches right back to the 1880s, and its developed into a strong
community with significant success on the international stage.

Future of hearing services in Australia

Excerpts from the SENATE FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
LEGISLATION COMMITTEE Estimates hearing, 20 October 2015
Uncorrected proof of evidence taken before the committee.
Minister for Finance, Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann: Obviously we are currently
involved in the process leading up to the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook which is
due to be released in the middle of December. I cannot pre-empt when exactly the final
decision is likely to be made. I am happy to confirm that a final decision has not been
made and that we are still mulling over what the best way forward is, given that we are
wanting to ensure the best possible future and a sustainable future for Australian Hearing
in the context of a changed environment.
Senator Cormann: All that we are interested in is to ensure that, in the context of the
continuous rollout of the NDIS, in the context of a contestable market for hearing services
that has been put in place by the previous government and in the context of the NDIS, as it
has for broader service provision in the disability services sector, Australian Hearing has the
opportunity to be the most successful as it possibly can be and continues to provide valued
services to its client base. We are currently working our way through on how best to
ensure that. We have not reached a final landing point. Obviously, the consultations that
took place earlier this year will help inform the government's final decision.
Senator Cormann: We received the scoping study, which was initiated in the 2014-15
budget. We considered it as part of the 2015-16 budget and decided at that point in time
to conduct further consultations before making any further decisions on the best way
forward. That consultation was conducted by my department and has fundamentally now
been concluded. We are now having conversations and considerations within government

on the most appropriate next steps. At some point we will reach a decision on the right
way forward but we have not reached that point just yet.
Senator Cormann: I am not responsible for the community service obligation of the
benefits provided to Australians with hearing impairment. These are matters that are the
responsibility of either the Minister for Health or the Minister for Social Services. My
responsibility here is to assess in a corporate way the best possible future arrangement for
Australian Hearing in a changing market for services for this demographic.
Senator Cormann: The final decision will be a cabinet decision because it is a decision
that will be made in the context of either a budget or a budget update.
Senator Cormann: I am not going to lock myself into an arbitrary timetable. Our
commitment is to get the decision right, and we feel that we need to do some more
thinking and potentially have some further conversations before making the best possible
decision.
OUR RESPONSE
Deafness Forum wrote to the Minister for Finance, Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann.
Dear Minister Cormann,
Deafness Forum of Australia, the peak consumer organisation representing the needs of
people with hearing loss, was consulted during the scoping study into the future ownership
options for Australian Hearing. You announced in May 2015 that the decision on the future
of the organisation would be deferred until later in 2015 while further consultation took
place. Those consultations have now been completed however there is other work that is
occurring in the hearing sector that needs to be finalised before the full impact on
Australian Hearing is known. Therefore Deafness Forum of Australia asks that you
reconsider the timing of the decision on the future of Australian Hearing until it is clear
whether the need for the safety net of a government hearing services provider is required.
The implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) impacts on existing
programs including the Australian Government Hearing Services Program. Some of the
client groups who receive services under this Program will transfer to the NDIS including
some highly vulnerable client groups that are currently the sole responsibility of Australian
Hearing. These groups are identified as Community Service Obligations (CSO) due to the
cost, complexity and access issues associated with the delivery of services to these clients,
and the lack of service options in the private sector. The CSO client groups include Deaf
and hard of hearing infants, children and young adults, pensioners and veterans with
complex hearing needs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples aged over 50
years. The CSO Program also funds a culturally sensitive outreach service for Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander peoples in urban, rural and remote areas of Australia. Under the
NDIS, services to these client groups will become contestable.
The introduction of contestability introduces significant risk to access and service quality
and could have a detrimental effect on client outcomes for the following reasons:
Audiology is a self-regulating profession so there are few safeguards to protect
clients. There is also no certification system for clients to know whether the person
has appropriate knowledge and expertise to deliver services in highly specialised
fields such as paediatric audiology. This is currently managed by Australian Hearing
through an in house training and mentoring program.
There is currently a very streamlined approach to putting rehabilitation programs in
place for infants and children diagnosed with hearing loss which ensures less than
2% loss to follow up that will be lost with multiple providers
There will be a loss of independent, unbiased advice regarding clinical programs,
devices and educational program options for children with hearing loss as potential
providers in a contestable environment are likely to be aligned with particular
educational programs or hearing aid manufacturers
There is a high risk that people in rural and remote areas will experience reduced
access to services
There is a high risk that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
will find it difficult to access services
There is a high risk that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in urban, rural
and remote areas will lose access to a culturally sensitive service delivery model
The private sector has not been required to deliver hearing rehabilitation services to
infants and children in the past, so the ability and interest of the private sector to
provide these services is unknown. The move to contestability in the delivery of
services to children could result in market failure leaving children with hearing loss
and their families without the critical services they need
The client groups are very small so the fragmentation of these groups that will occur
with contestability will make it difficult for audiologists to maintain their skill levels
There is going to be a significant increase in the cost of delivering hearing services in
the commercial market as opposed to service provision in a Community Service
Obligations Program where the government provider achieves cost efficiencies
through its economies of scale and bulk purchasing arrangements
Deafness Forum of Australia has surveyed members and there was a very strong message
from the families of children with hearing loss that they would rather forego the choice of
provider in order to retain the high quality and trusted service they receive from Australian
Hearing.
Many of the issues outlined above could be resolved if Australian Hearing was nominated
as the sole provider of services to infants and children with hearing loss under the NDIS,
which we understand is possible under existing legislation governing the NDIS. This has

been suggested to the National Disability Insurance Agency during the transition planning
consultations but it is not yet clear whether they are considering this as an option. Also,
the future of other CSO client groups and activities that are currently the sole responsibility
of Australian Hearing but will not transfer to the NDIS, such as hearing assessment services
for children, is not yet known.
It is critical to resolve these matters before a decision is taken on the future of Australian
Hearing.
The transition of services from the Australian Government Hearing Services
Program to the NDIS is scheduled to occur in 2019 - 2020 to allow sufficient time to
address the number and complexity of the issues involved in the transfer of services. If a
decision is taken to privatise Australian Hearing before these issues are decided, then it
removes the opportunity to provide a safety net for highly vulnerable client groups. For
these reasons we ask that you defer the decision on the future of Australian Hearing until
these matters have been resolved.
Thank you for considering this request.
Deafness Forum of Australia, a member of the Disability Australia Consortium.

Live captioning: we talked and listened

More than 80 people, including a representative of Deafness Forum attended a recent
Australian Communications and Media Authority Citizen Conversation event, Live
captioning: lets talk.
A

transcript

of

the

event

and

copies

of

presentations

are

available

at

http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/About/Events/Citizen-Conversations-Series/live-captioning-lets-talkregister?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Live+captioning+we+talked+and+listened&utm_content=Live
+captioning+we+talked+and+listened+CID_c2349af785ce4b6a968a754f2c1e0104&utm_source=SendEmailC
ampaigns&utm_term=transcript%20of%20the%20event%20and%20copies%20of%20presentations%20are
%20available

There is also a highlights video, which includes interviews with some attendees.
If you have any questions, please dont hesitate to contact captioning@acma.gov.au.

Conexus OpenAccess Tours app supports cultural venues with translation of

their tours in Auslan and captions.
The National Gallery of Victorias current major
exhibition on the Masterpieces from the Hermitage:
The Legacy of Catherine the Great is accessible to
deaf and hearing people via both the OpenAccess
Tours app as well as NGVs iPod touch devices that
can be hired at their Audio Guide shop.
You will have to hurry as the marvelous exhibition
closes this month.
Conexus OpenAccess Tours app we assist the
National Gallery of Victorias with the summer
blockbuster Andy Warhol and Ai Wei Wei exhibition
in December.
Coming soon to Canberra and Brisbane:
National Gallery of Australia Tom Roberts exhibition starting in early December.
Queensland Gallery of Modern Art 8th Asian Pacific Triennial exhibition in December.

Better Hearing Australia conference in Perth

At left: Peter Moore, David Brady and Haydn Daw. At right, with Peter Cianchi.
Peter Moore from BHA Central Coast NSW and Peter Cianchi from BHA Canberra were the
joint winners of the BHA Illingworth Award for the most outstanding volunteer throughout
Australia.

The Better Hearing Consumer 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 at
http://hearinghealthmatters.org/betterhearingconsumer/
Gael wrote to One in Six: One of your members forwarded me the newsletter in which
you included one of my recent blogs (Ed: Articles on what NOT to say to deaf people have
been floating on Facebook, One in Six 14 October 2015). Thank you for the honour.
Several Australians have bought my recent book, The Way I Hear It, which is available
through Amazon or my publisher
http://www.friesenpress.com/bookstore/title/119734000015376639/Gael-Hannan-TheWay-I-Hear-It
Heres a review of the book in HuffingtonPost
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-hansen-brakeman/humor-and-hearing-loss-a_b_8211434.html?fb_action_ids=10156287108175107&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_sourc
e=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B1117653081579892%5D&action_type_map=%
5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Improve your hearing and quality of life

A recent study from The Journal of the American Medical Association showed that the
greater your level of hearing loss, the greater your risk of death. Hearing impairment
doubles with every decade of life and affects more than two-thirds of people over the age
of 70. Hearing impairment is associated with reduced levels of well-being and quality of
life, e.g. a reduced response in conversations leads to isolation, difficulty responding to
doorbells, smoke alarms, etc. Another concern is, of course, hearing cars and car horns.

There are 360 million people worldwide who suffer disabling hearing loss. This is defined as
hearing loss of greater than 40 decibels in the better hearing ear.
When they divided the hearing impairment into mild, moderate and severe, they found that
those with moderate to severe hearing impairment had a 54% increased risk of death
whereas those with a mild hearing impairment had a 27% increased risk of death.
When they adjusted for demography and cardiovascular disease, there was still a 39%
increased risk of death in those with moderate to severe hearing impairment and a 21%
increased risk of death in those with mild hearing impairment.
There are now some important causal connections between hearing impairment and
cognitive, mental and physical function. There is already a known association with hearing
impairment and dementia, type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
If you feel that your hearing is being affected in any way you should be having audiometry
testing and consideration for hearing aids, which leads to much greater stimulation and
potentially therefore reduced levels of all of the aforementioned diseases. Once you are
more socially connected there is also more motivation to maintain good cardiovascular risk
modification, which does affect all the diseases that I have mentioned.
In summary, anyone with hearing impairment should have much earlier and regular
screening and much more vigorous management of their risk factors. More from Ross
Walker at Switzer Daily, http://m.switzer.com.au/the-experts/ross-walker/improve-yourhearing-and-improve-your-quality-of-life/

Changes to Rehabilitation Appliances Program

The Rehabilitation Appliances Program assists entitled veterans, war widows and widowers
and dependants to be as independent and self-reliant as possible in their own home.
Appropriate health care assessment and subsequent provision of aids and appliances may
minimise the impact of disabilities, enhance quality of life and maximise independence
when undertaking daily living activities.
Holders of the Repatriation Health Care Card For all conditions (Gold Card) may be able to
obtain aids and appliances subject to assessed clinical need. Holders of the Repatriation
Health Card For Specific Conditions (White Card) may be eligible to obtain aids and
appliances subject to assessed clinical need resulting from a condition accepted as being
related to the entitled persons service.

A change to the entitlement for smoke alarms is of concern to Deafness Forum. For an
individual to obtain a package, an audiologist must first confirm a profound or severe
hearing loss in the better ear.
This is significant change from the previous criteria and could mean that people who are
unable to hear a conventional smoke alarm are no longer able to obtain a specialised
smoke alarm package.
Smoke alarms usually emit a tone around 3kHz whether a person hears this will depend
upon their degree of hearing loss at the pitch of the alarm, how far they are from the
smoke alarm and even things like whether they sleep with a breathing assistance unit etc.

Are you the mum of a child with hearing

impairment aged between 4 and 6?
Curtin University is conducting a study that will review the relationship between mums and
their children with any form of hearing impairment.
The study aims to review the way that mums and their children interact together in their
everyday life.
The Department of Psychology from Curtin University would like to invite you to participate
in this study.
The study will require you to participate in two main activities. In one activity, yourself and
your child will together tell four separate stories about a time when your child has
experienced four separate emotions. The emotions that will be spoken about are: happy,
sad, mad, and scared. This part of the study is expected to take no longer than ten
minutes. If your child is shy and doesnt like to talk much, it is quiet ok for you to tell the
story and for your child to simply respond with a yes or no if they agree or disagree with
the story.
The second task is an interview, which takes no more than an hour and half. The length of
the interview is based on how much you would like to share and is to be completed without
your child. The interviewer will ask questions about your experience of raising a child with
a hearing impairment.
Both of these activities can take place in a setting that is most convenient for you. It
should be noted that these two activities will be audio recorded so that your response can
be transcribed. In regards to these recordings, your confidentiality will always be kept with
your names not being transcribed.

The study welcomes all English speaking participants with any type of hearing impairment.
As this study is based in WA, video link/skype/audio recording can be done for individuals
living in other states other than WA. For more information or to partake in the study
please do not hesitate to contact Jon Marginis (jonathan.marginis@postgrad.curtin.edu.au)

Hearing loss is a sure thing with these sounds

Sound can be a beautiful thing the melody of an orchestra, the rustle of leaves, the
soothing consistency of rain. It can also be, well, not so beautiful. Clanking pots and pans,
nails on a chalkboard, and the screeching of an upset infant come to mind as examples.
Though the tone and purpose of a sound definitely have an impact on if we perceive it as
pleasurable or not, one thing everyone can agree on is that super loud noises are no good.
While some can cause hearing loss over extended exposure or a single blast, the loudest
noises even have the power to kill you by rupturing your brain.

Infographic by The Airconditioning Company, UK.

Article from Medical Daily,
http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/hearing-loss-sure-thing-these-sounds-worlds-loudestnoises-can-even-cause-death-357052

Deafness Forum Australia visits Brisbane

Representative of the hearing health & well-being sector gathered at Brisbanes Donald
Simpson Community Centre to promote the installation of communication access systems
within the Centre. These will assist people with hearing loss when they attend meetings
and activities at the Centre.
Audio induction loops have been
installed, and FM systems are
available. A counter loop is also
available
at
reception.
The
installation
of
communication
systems in Redland City Council
facilities was also acknowledged.

Pictured from left to right:

Tony Christinson, Chairman of the Donald Simpson
Community Centre (DSCC)
Paul Barnes, Convenor of the Redlands Hearing
Impaired Support Group and Treasurer of the DSCC;
Jill and Peter Lindley;
David Brady Chairman of the Board of Deafness
Forum Australia;
Alan Beard, deputy Mayor of Redlands
Shirley Edwards, Secretary CICADA Queensland
Thomas Jithin Manager of the Centre

Tony Christinson Chairman of the

Donald Simpson Community Centre
noted Peter and Jill Lindleys
persistence in explaining the need
for people with hearing loss to
have assistance was catalyst for
the new augmentation systems.
Paul Barnes, Convenor of the
Redlands Hearing Impaired Support
Group said the Donald Simpson
Community Centre and the Redland
City Council had set a benchmark
in communication access provision,
ensuring social inclusion for those
who have a hearing loss.

Hopefully, other organisations will follow, knowing that the outcome is more than positive.
While this remarkable achievement is an overwhelming success, it is the tip of the iceberg
in relation to other matters that effect people with a hearing loss he said.
During his comments to the group, Deafness Forum chairman David Brady spoke of the
importance of Hearing Loss becoming a national health priority - given the high incidence
of hearing loss, its predicted increase across all ages, the implications for health & wellbeing and the importance of addressing the isolation and social exclusion that is often
currently the lot of those with hearing loss.

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

Items in Deafness Forum communications incorporate or summarise views, standards or

recommendations of third parties or comprise material contributed by third parties or sourced from
items published in the public domain. Our intention is to attain balance and be representative of all
views within the sector we represent, however this may not be attainable in particular
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not occur. Third party material is assembled in good faith, but does not necessarily reflect the
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Deafness Forum makes no representation or warranty about the accuracy, reliability, currency or
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