Hearing and Literacy: Aren't hearing aids for kids a bit of a 'shame job'?

We are very familiar with the arguments about the 'shame job' in communities that hearing aids can yield, and no one is trying to see where the fence is and how far can we push that fence in terms of acquiring hearing aids for Aboriginal children.

But the issue is, if a child is not able to communicate with their peers, not able to talk to the teacher, can't communicate effectively with their family, if a child has no ear drums, then it's the good audiologist, the good teacher, the good interventionist now who can try in appropriate ways, culturally appropriate ways, to show the benefits these kinds of devices bring to the children that need them.

No one is pushing hard — let's put a hearing aid on every Aboriginal child with a fluctuating hearing loss and otitis media. We are certainly not part of that, and I don't think that that is really happening in the Territory. But what we are trying to say is, don't put everyone in that category.

Mild hearing loss is one thing, and sound field systems will go a long way to help. It is probably the best bang for your buck in terms of getting the most children the best intervention for the dollars. But don't put a sound field system into a classroom and expect that the child who has severe hearing loss due to otitis media, perhaps probably with no ear drums, or chronically draining ears, is going to be okay in that kind of environment. You've got to realise those kind hearing losses in of children will be almost normalised with a hearing-aid system, and that becomes critically important.

Communities have to take ownership. When we were in schools with primarily Aboriginal teachers and teaching assistants, we felt especially good that community liaison was excellent with follow-up as well.