Ear and hearing health is vital for overall health and quality of life. Ear disease and associated hearing loss can have long-lasting impacts on education, wellbeing and employment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children are more likely than non-Indigenous children to experience ear and hearing problems. Several factors contribute to the poorer ear and hearing health of First Nations children, including lack of access to health services, household overcrowding and second-hand smoke exposure.

This report presents new data for hearing health outreach services provided in 2023, through Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment, the Healthy Ears–Better Hearing, Better Listening Program (until 30 June 2022) and other Australian Government funded programs. It includes time trends for the period July 2012 to December 2023.

Key insights

• In 2023, 171 training sessions for hearing health education, promotion and prevention activities were provided to health-care staff.
• A total of 2,067 First Nations children and young people received at least one hearing health service in 2023.
• Hearing health is improving among children and young people who received outreach services between 2012 and 2023; the percentage of First Nations children and young people with at least one ear condition decreased by 13 percentage points, from 66% to 54%.
• Between 2012 and 2023, among 2,233 First Nations children who received at least two audiology services and had hearing impairment at their first service, (76%) had improved – moving to a lower degree of hearing impairment or to no hearing impairment.
• At December 2023, there were 3,118 First Nations children and young people on the audiology waiting list.
• The Hearing Health Program is exceeding all three of its service delivery targets.