This is the first Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) annual report on the ear and hearing health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children and adults.

First Nations people continue to experience excessive rates of ear and hearing problems, which can have profound impacts on overall health and quality of life, and can affect both the ability to communicate cultural knowledge and their immersion in culture. Ear and hearing problems limit opportunities for education, work, personal relationships and community engagement. Problems affecting children are of particular concern, with ongoing impacts that can affect speech, language, and cognitive and behavioural development. Much ear disease and hearing loss affecting First Nations people, particularly children and younger adults, is preventable.

This report presents a set of measures developed to document changes over time in ear and hearing health among First Nations people and their use of ear and hearing health services.

Key findings:

• Around 43% of First Nations people aged 7 and over (290,400 people) had measured hearing loss in one or both ears.
• While the primary care workforce is critical to delivering ear and hearing health services, it faces challenges including high staff turnover, competing demands from multiple programs and lack of access to training for staff.
• The rate of First Nations people receiving ear or hearing related hospital procedures rose between 2010–11 and 2020–21, particularly among First Nations children aged 0–2.