12February2015

TV captions
Changes to the rules on reporting of TV networks captions
standards will be at the expense of people who value
captions.

Sale of Australian Hearing

"Moving the Community Service Obligation Program to a
commercial arrangement introduces a high degree of
uncertainty for very vulnerable people.

More medical professionals needed in

remote communities
When it comes to improving indigenous health in Australia
Sue Tuck is all ears - after all considering she is an
audiologist it is what Sue does best.

Breaking my own communication rules

Gael Hannan had a terrible trip. And to make it worse, she
broke a lot of her own communication rules along the way.

Can caffeine combat tinnitus?

New research finds that higher caffeine intake is associated
with lower rates of tinnitus.

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

continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects 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.

Senate committee recommends damaging

changes to Australias TV captioning standards
The Senate committee which recently reviewed the governments proposed amendments to
the Broadcasting Services Act has issued a report in favour of the controversial changes.
The committee supports all but one of the governments changes, including abolishment of
the rule that free-to-air TV networks make annual captioning compliance reports.
Deafness Forum, on behalf of its members, advised the committee that it opposed the
changes, saying they would be at the expense of people who value captions. The warning
went unheeded.
Learn
more
at
the
Media
Access
Australia
website,
http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/latest_news/news/senate-committee-reports-on-proposedcaptioning-changes

Government consultation on NDIS

The government invited Deafness Forum of Australia to participate in a consultation
process for the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building policy under the National
Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) is the new name for NDIS supports
provided under Tier 2. Disability Ministers agreed this name change to reflect the supports
it will provide. Once rolled out, ILC supports will be available to all people with disability,
their families and carers. ILC will also assist community and mainstream services to be
more inclusive of people with disability, their families and carers.
Deafness Forum seeks your comments to be included in its submission.
A policy framework has been developed jointly between the Commonwealth and state and
territory governments. It is intended that it will be used as a guide for the National Disability
Insurance Agency when implementing ILC. Contact Deafness Forum for a copy of the
framework document info@deafnessforum.org.au
The findings of the consultations will be collated into a report for use by Disability Ministers,
Commonwealth, state and territory government officials and the NDIA, in developing
implementation strategies in each jurisdiction for ILC.
Your written comments should be received by Deafness Forum by 10 March.

Alternatively, you may wish to make your own submission by 13 March to

NDIS.ILC@dss.gov.au
Observation:
In its letter of invitation received yesterday, the Department of Social Services wrote As a
key stakeholder of the NDIS, I am seeking your comments.
Not two months earlier, the department advised it would not fund Deafness Forum and
other national disability organisations under the banner of Disability Australia consortium in
2015.

Adam in Sydney writes

"I'm one of those blokes in what is probably quite a huge group, the ones who don't
generally do anything about their hearing, we just put up with it or ignore the problems. As
I've found when one of us does something about it we certainly don't fit the clich of the old
fella' with the hearing aid.
I'm just about to turn 50, I've a young daughter, she's just about to turn 10, and yes, hearing
aids have been a big step for me to take. But that got me thinking... why is it such a big
step to take. It shouldn't be!
People wouldn't dream of letting their eyesight deteriorate to the same extent that they'll
tolerate from their hearing. Why? It's crazy.
My position has made me realise how much we need to raise awareness about hearing
loss & hearing health in the sub-60 age group.
Try to remove some of the stigma of hearing aids because as I said to my audiologist...
'they're just ear-glasses' ;) "

Media release

Impact of a sale of Australian Hearing on children

Australian Hearing is one of a number of federal government agencies being considered for
privatisation.
Australia Hearing is a vital public asset and has been the sole provider of hearing services
for hearing impaired and deaf children since 1947.
Community advocate organisations fear that the sale of the Australian Hearing will have a
significant and detrimental impact on children and their families.
According to Ann Porter AM from Aussie Deaf Kids, the system for hard of hearing and deaf
children in Australia is based on all children, regardless of location and socio-economic
background, receiving services from Australian Hearing that allow them access to high
quality technology that optimises their ability to listen and, in turn, to learn.
The sale of Australian Hearing could not only alter the lives of our children and families, but
impact on the entire health, education and disability infrastructure that supports us, Ann
Porter said.
Kate Kennedy, Coordinator at the NSW parent organisation, Parents of Deaf Children
believes a sale could see children fall through the cracks. If a new owner was to withdraw
services, especially in rural and remote areas, it would put at risk the future outcomes for
Australian children with hearing loss.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are at risk if the asset is sold. The Indigenous
outreach service through which Australian Hearing provides culturally appropriate services
to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in urban, rural and remote areas is
placed at risk by the proposed sale.

Deafness Forum of Australia believes that moving the Community Service Obligation
Program to a commercial arrangement introduces a high degree of uncertainty for very
vulnerable people.
There is no guarantee there will be providers willing to take on this highly complex work, or
they may not have the expertise needed, leaving clients with the greatest need without a
reliable service, particularly those living in rural and remote areas, said Deafness Forum
chairman David Brady.
It is essential to ensure that the needs of these clients are protected, and that client
outcomes are not compromised if the sale proceeds, he said.
There are approximately 20,000 hearing impaired and Deaf children and young adults who
receive their services at Australian Hearings national network of service locations. The
clients range in age from birth to 26 years. A percentage of those young people have
multiple disabilities. 11% are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The potential sale of Australian Hearing comes at a time when ten peak disability
organisations, including Deafness Forum of Australia have been defunded by the
government. The funding cuts effectively gag a national voice for the 4 million Australians
who are hearing impaired, Deaf, deafblind, have an ear disorder, and their families.

TICKETS
NOW SELLING

VICDEAF
GASLIGHT
FESTIVAL
2015

www.gaslightfestival.com.au

Buy tickets online

to avoid lengthy
queue
What is the Gaslight Festival?

A two day community festival celebrating

Auslan and deaf history and culture

When: 7th - 8th March 2015

Where: Martin Park (off Gordon Street), Wodonga
Whats on:
Filming Workshop with Turquoise Australia
Cooking Classes with Auslan Cooking Classes
Golfing sessions with Deaf Golf Victoria
Families, Sports and Recreation Activities with Deaf Sports Recreation

Victoria, Deaf Sports Australia and Deaf Youth Victoria

Friendly Twenty20 Cricket Match with Melbourne Deaf Cricket Club
Deaf Mental Health Information Session with Karli Dettman

History Talk: The Deaf Cosmopolitan Correspondence Club

with Melissa Anderson

History Talk: The Role of Sport in the Deaf community

with Anne Bremner

Auslan Storytelling Activity with Melissa Anderson

OpenAccess apps from Conexu with Phil Harper
Workshops for Deaf and KODA young people
with Australian Theatre of the Deaf

For further information, please

contact David Peters via email:
dpeters@vicdeaf.com.au
or, have a look at the website:
www.gaslightfestival.com.au

Culminating with a stunning performance

from Australian Theatre of the Deaf
Note: The program may be subject to change at any time.

More medical professionals needed in remote

communities says audiologist
By SOPHIE KESTEVEN, ABC Tropical North
When it comes to improving indigenous health in Australia Sue Tuck is all ears - after all
considering she is an audiologist it is what Sue does best.
Sue is predominantly based in the Whitsundays, but twice a year she makes the trip to the
Northern Territory to work in remote indigenous communities.
There she works with Remote Allied
Health and Call, an agency that employs
health professionals to work in the
remote regions of Australia.
"I first heard about it back in 2007 when
the Commonwealth Government began
the emergency response to the closing
the gap program," Sue said.
Audiologist Sue Tuck travels to the Northern
Territory twice a year to help improve the hearing of
indigenous and remote communities.
(Sophie Kesteven - ABC)

"It was when it became obvious there

was such huge gaps in health outcomes
for indigenous and non-indigenous
Australians."

When Sue arrived in the Northern Territory she was not surprised by the amount of hearing
problems present.
"We have actually got the highest incidence in the world in our indigenous kids for ear
disease, and you feel in a country like Australia where we have so many resources
available to us, it shouldn't be like that," Sue said.
Sue says otitis media is the most common ear infection she comes across, which is
inflammation, fluid and infection behind the eardrum.
"It can begin in indigenous babies from as young as six weeks of age, which occurs when
bacteria forms into the middle ear," she said.
Sue says contributing factors to this ear infection can result from household overcrowding,
and it is still not fully understood why the immune response of an indigenous child is not the
same of a non-indigenous child.
www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/01/08/4159398.htm?site=tropic

Captions on My Kitchen Rules

The positioning of captions in the television series My Kitchen Rules is problematic

because of on-screen graphics combined with the large amount of the screen which is
taken up by shots of the food, the contestants' faces and their hands preparing dishes.
This has meant that captions either have to remain at the top of the screen throughout, with
the risk that they might sometimes cover faces, or mostly at the bottom but moving around
the screen at times because the show uses live Twitter feeds, which run across the bottom
of the screen.
The captioner, Red Bee Media Australia is keen to receive feedback as to which is the most
preferred approach.
You can express your opinion in its survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NGFMGXS

Get involved with Deaf Services Queensland

Are you keen to get involved with Deaf Services Queensland and be kept in the loop on
upcoming news, events and workshops in your state?
Being a member of Deaf Services Queensland allows you to help shape the future of the
organisation and participate in achieving its strategic goals.
http://www.deafservicesqld.org.au/

Breaking my own communication rules

Gael Hannan had a terrible trip. Delayed departure, the journey ultimately included three
flights, an unexpected hotel layover, lost luggage, a few tears and a total of 28 hours.
And if thats not bad enough, she broke a lot of her own communication rules along the
way. Heres Gaels advice for your next trip.
Dont Bluff. When I checked into the hotel, I forgot to self-identify. Phoning down to tell
the front desk staff, I asked them, should they need to break down my door and carry me to
safety, to please send a strong guy with good communication skills, my standard request.
The staff person on the phone kept talking and I didnt understand him, so I just repeated
my request. Maybe he was trying to tell me they couldnt provide the particular rescue guy
Id requested. Ill never know because I bluffedand happily there was no emergency that
required me to be rescued.
Keep technology charged. My cellphone and iPad were crucial that night, but their
charge, low to begin with, was draining fast. Needing to arrange my flight for the next day
(ticketing staff had gone home for the night, of course), I found an electrical outlet next to a
baggage carousel that wasnt being used. In the middle of my phone call, the carousel
started and I jumped up. Focusing on my phone conversation, it took me a few moments to
realise my purse was still on the carousel and was around to the other side.
Keep emergency essentials in carry-on bags. In my missing suitcase were my
toothbrush and other ablutions, my shake-awake alarm clock, two months supply of contact
lenses and my backup hearing aids. Everything was replaceable and I used my cellphone
as a vibrating alarm, but I grieved for my old hearing aids.
http://hearinghealthmatters.org/betterhearingconsumer/

Can't sing? Do it more often

If you've ever been told that you're 'tone deaf' or 'can't carry a tune,' don't give up.
New research suggests that singing accurately is not so much a talent as a learned skill
that can decline over time if not used.
The ability to sing on key may have more in common with the kind of practice that goes into
playing an instrument than people realise.
More at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150209083637.htm

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A short film following the chance meeting of a hearing man and a Deaf woman as they wait
for a train has been awarded Best Foreign Film at Deaffest in the United Kingdom.
Written and directed by Melbourne filmmaker Jake Willis, watch Here in Silence online at
http://vimeo.com/116647062

Community grants
A total of $2 million will be awarded in individual grants of up to $10,000 to organisations
supporting children and youth up to the age of 21 years old.
Applications for the Commonwealth Bank Community Grants program close Friday 27
February
For more information visit www.commbank.com.au/grants
Jetstar's Flying Start program is now open for organisations in Queensland and the
Northern Territory to enter. Local not-for-profit groups and organisations have until 31
March to submit applications for a $30,000 grant, made up of $15,000 worth of Jetstar
travel to further their reach and impact and $15,000 cash to enhance the lives of people in
their local community.
http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/flyingstart?utm_source=jetmail&utm_medium=email&utm_ca
mpaign=20150114_FlyingStart_au#home

Caffeine intake associated with lower incidence of

tinnitus
New research finds that higher caffeine intake is associated with lower rates of tinnitus,
often described as a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear when there is no outside source of
the sounds, in younger and middle-aged women.
Researchers tracked self-reported results regarding lifestyle and medical history from
women aged 30 to 44 years and without tinnitus in 1991.
"We observed a significant inverse association between caffeine intake and the incidence of
tinnitus among these women," said Gary Curhan, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical
School.
Specifically, researchers report that when compared with women with caffeine intake less
than 150 milligrams/day (approximately one and a half 8-ounce cups of coffee), the
incidence of reported tinnitus was 15 percent lower compared to those women who
consumed 450 to 599 mg/day of caffeine. The majority of caffeine consumed among the
women was from coffee and the results did not vary by age.
"The reason behind this observed association is unclear," said Curhan. "We know that
caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, and previous research has demonstrated
that caffeine has a direct effect on the inner ear in both bench science and animal studies.
Researchers note that further evidence is needed to make any recommendations about
whether the addition of caffeine would improve tinnitus symptoms.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140807105434.htm

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