29 May 2018 

Veterans’ hearing health a national disgrace

Australians who live with a hearing loss as a result of their
military service have lost their right in civilian life to receive
the proper level of hearing services.

Complaints “unsubstantiated” - Australian

Hearing
An investigation into alleged anti-competitive market
behaviour by Australian Hearing has found that the tax-
payer owned organisation is complying with its competitive
neutrality obligations.

Flash new hearing aid

Blamey Saunders won Australia's prestigious Good Design
Award of the Year and the CSIRO Design Innovation Award for
their ground-breaking hearing device.

Auslan classes taking off with the help of a

dedicated mum
"We found that there was definite need in the community.
Many people spoke to me over many years, saying how they
would love to learn it, but there was nowhere to access it."

Founder of The Shepherd centre dies at age 85

Dr Bruce Shepherd founded the first early intervention agency
to teach “Auditory-Oral Therapy” to children with hearing loss
in Australia. Starting with just five families, The Shepherd
Centre now supports over 500 families a year in NSW, the ACT
and Tasmania and is continuing to grow.

We  acknowledge  the  traditional  custodians  of  the  land,  community,  sea,  and  waters  where  we  live  and  work.   We  pay  our  respect  to 
elders past, present and future and value the contributions Indigenous Australians make in our society.  We acknowledge the challenge for 
Indigenous leaders and families to overcome the unacceptably high levels of ear health issues among first Australians. 
Veterans’ hearing health

The compensation and rehabilitation system for serving and ex-serving members of the Australian
Defence Force is now under review. The system of veterans’ support includes income support,
compensation, health care, rehabilitation and other services.

Australia’s military personnel are frequently placed in high-risk environments. The impacts from
military workplace injuries and illnesses are significant. Injuries incurred by defence personnel
include crushed vertebrae and spinal injuries, brain injuries, gunshot wounds, falls causing back
and shoulder issues, knee injuries, amputations, hearing loss, and back and lower limb injuries
caused by requirements to carry heavy loads.

The Productivity Commission will do a comprehensive review of how the system operates and how
it should operate into the future. The Productivity Commission is the Australian Government’s
independent research and advisory body on a range of economic, social and environmental issues.

The review, called ‘Compensation and Rehabilitation for Veterans’ will receive information and
comments on issues from any interested individual or organisation until July 2018.

Deafness Forum of Australia has explained to the Productivity Commission that Australians who
live with a hearing loss as a result of their military service have unfairly lost their right in civilian
life to receive the proper level of hearing services at no cost.

As a result of a review of military compensation arrangements a few years ago, Veterans with
long term hearing needs were switched to a Repatriation Health Card. The White Specific
Treatment Card, or White Card as it is known, was intended to streamline services and payments,
but it also introduced changes to the level of hearing aid technology that a veteran could receive
without payment.

Before the changes, eligible Veterans could receive aids to suit their individual hearing needs.
Now that these Veterans have been issued with a White Specific Treatment Card they receive
their hearing services under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program. Under this
Program, Veterans receive a base-level hearing aid at no cost. To access the correct level of
technology to suit their individual hearing needs they must now make a personal top-up payment
to bridge the gap.

Veterans were not properly consulted or informed at the time of the changes in the level of
hearing devices they would receive when they were issued with the White Specific Treatment
Card. It was a poor decision, implemented in haste, with no care or responsibility for the effects
on Veterans and their families. This is a small and inexpensive matter to fix.

Shepherd Centre founder Dr Bruce Shepherd has died aged 85

The Shepherd Centre has announced Dr Shepherd passed peacefully on Friday.

Dr Shepherd and his late wife Annette were pioneers of their time. They worked tirelessly at
finding an alternative to the methods available in Australia for children with hearing loss when
their children Penny and Danny were both born profoundly deaf.

At that time, children with hearing loss were typically sent to designated schools for the deaf,
often as boarders, where they were taught sign language and were isolated from their families
and the hearing community. After extensive research, Bruce and Annette Shepherd embarked on
a journey to America to attend the summer program at The John Tracy Clinic in Los Angeles.
Impressed by this method of early intervention, Dr Shepherd brought this back to Australia where
they established “The Council for Integrated Deaf Education” on Sydney University grounds –
which later became known as The Shepherd Centre.
It was the first early intervention agency to teach “Auditory-Oral Therapy” to children with hearing
loss in Australia. Starting with just five families, The Shepherd Centre now supports over 500
families a year in NSW, the ACT and Tasmania and is continuing to grow.

Dr Shepherd was also instrumental in lobbying the government for the introduction of the NSW
State-wide Infant Screening Hearing (SWISH) program which was established in 2000 and is now
used nationally.

His extraordinary work has helped position Australia as one of the best places in the world to be
born deaf with The Shepherd Centre’s outcomes for children with hearing loss incomparable. In
1991 Dr Shepherd was appointed to the Order of Australia (AM) for his efforts in deaf education,
teaching deaf children to speak and enabling them to attend mainstream schools with full
integration.

http://shepherdcentre.org.au/

During his professional life, he became NSW state president and federal president of the AMA. He
founded the Australian Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons and The Australian Doctors’ Fund, and
was first leader of both. He was also President of The Australian Orthopaedic Association.

“Dr Bruce Shepherd was always committed to deliver the best healthcare for all Australians,” The
Shepherd Centre said. “He is well-known for passionately leading a group of doctors fighting the
Hawke Labor Government striving to nationalise the profession.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/shepherd-centre-founder-dr-bruce-shepherd-has-died-aged-85/news-
story/9167ad8ed0985352a97666075ea90c78
Complaints about Australian Hearing “unsubstantiated”
A Government investigation into alleged anti-competitive market behaviour by Australian
Hearing has found that the tax-payer owned organisation is complying with its competitive
neutrality obligations.

The Australian Government Competitive Neutrality Complaints Office received two

complaints believed to have come from commercial interests. The investigation found that
the complaints were unsubstantiated and that Australian Hearing is complying with its competitive
neutrality obligations.

Download the report:

 Australian Hearing - AGCNCO Investigation report 16 -
https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/australian-hearing/australian-hearing.docx

Australian Hearing is the sole provider of the Government’s Community Service Obligation in
hearing services. It also competes with private providers in the Government-subsidised voucher
hearing services market and (to a limited extent) the private hearing services market.

In late 2017, the Australian Government Competitive Neutrality Complaints Office (AGCNCO)
received two complaints alleging that Australian Hearing is engaging in anticompetitive behaviour
in the voucher services market, and enjoys market advantages over its competitors as a result of
its government ownership.

Some issues raised by the complaints fell outside the realm of competitive neutrality policy. These
issues (the alleged anticompetitive behaviour and policies governing Australian Hearing’s role in
providing CSOs under the Hearing Services Program and in providing services to National Disability
Insurance Scheme clients) have not been considered by the AGCNCO.

The remaining issues raised by the complaints that were within the scope of competitive neutrality
policy fell into two categories — those relating to the behaviour of Australian Hearing itself and
those relating to the behaviour of other areas of government (which allegedly treat
Australian Hearing more favourably than its competitors).

The main competitive neutrality concern raised in relation to Australian Hearing’s behaviour was
that it is cross-subsiding its commercial operations with CSO funding. On this matter, the
AGCNCO found that Australian Hearing has a robust system of cost allocation that, together with
regular external scrutiny of its CSO monitoring reports by the Department of Health, provides
sufficient discipline to ensure that the cross-subsidisation of its voucher business with CSO funding
does not occur.
The complaints also contended that Australian Hearing is advantaged in tendering for goods and
services by its government status and has preferential access to the National Acoustic
Laboratories’ research. The complaint further alleged that Australian Hearing is operating in the
private, fee-for-service market and that this is outside the remit of its enabling legislation.

However, the AGCNCO found all these concerns to be unsubstantiated and, with a minor
exception, Australian Hearing is complying with its competitive neutrality obligations.

The minor exception is where it is advantaged as a result of the workers compensation regulation
it operates under. To address this, the AGCNCO recommends that Australian Hearing make
annual regulatory neutrality payments to the Official Public Account of an amount equal in value
to this advantage.

Beyond the behaviour of Australian Hearing itself, the complaints also alleged that other areas of
government (primarily the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health) were
favouring Australian Hearing over its competitors. That alleged favourable treatment included
giving Australian Hearing preferential access to Centrelink offices for marketing purposes and
preferential access to Hearing Services Program client data.

While the AGCNCO found most of the concerns about favourable treatment were not justified, it
did find that some areas of government were and are providing a minor competitive advantage to
Australian Hearing as a result of undue promotion on government websites and in Ministerial
media releases. The AGCNCO has recommended changes to address these sources of advantage.

Guide to the NDIS for GPs and allied health professionals

The National Disability Insurance Agency has updated its GP and Allied Health Professional’s Guide
to the NDIS factsheet.

The resource includes information on referral pathways and the NDIA’s evidence of disability
requirements as well as advice on billing through Medicare.

https://www.ndis.gov.au/medias/documents/gp-fact-sheet/NDIS-GP-Allied-Health-Professional-s-Guide-
May-2018-.pdf
The world's first modular hearing aid is here and it could change the game for
people with total or partial hearing loss.

Melbourne-based hearing aid designers Blamey Saunders won Australia's prestigious Good Design
Award of the Year and the CSIRO Design Innovation Award for their ground-breaking device,
dubbed Facett, at a glitzy ceremony at Sydney Opera House this month.

So, what makes this hearing aid different to other models? The device works with a core, linked
to an app, and is powered by a rechargeable module, which magnetically clicks into place — for
anyone who's tried to change a hearing aid battery in the dark, or had to have someone else
change it for them, this is pretty neat.

Plus, while rechargeable batteries for hearing aids are pretty widely available now, zinc-air button
disposable batteries are commonly used — and these can be super fiddly and often difficult for
people with partial dexterity.

Instead, the Facett lets you store one of

two pairs of modules in a small portable
drying and charging pod, which you can
plug in when you go to bed, and it'll charge
overnight for a day's listening.

“This product has incredible potential to make a very positive impact on people's lives who suffer
from hearing loss. The use of rechargeable batteries and magnetic coupling is highly innovative,"
said the Good Design Awards judges' statement.

"Every little detail of this product has been meticulously designed with the end use in mind, right
down to the magnetic charging case, colour coded units for each ear and carefully considered
design aesthetic."

According to Melbourne's RMIT, the design was inspired by the crystal forms in the Melbourne
Museum's mineralogy collection.
"The stunning jewel-like design does well to remove the stigma of hearing aids by drawing
parallels to jewellery and wearable art," said the GDA judges.

As everyone's hearing is different, the device settings are adjustable through a system called
IHearYou, via smartphone, tablet or Windows app. The device also boasts high resolution sound,
filtered through 96 output channels, and technology that isolates speech and reduces background
noise.

Preorders for Facett are open now from Blamey Saunders' website. They're not cheap, with a
single priced at AU$3,100 and a pair at $5,990, but this seems pretty average for hearing aids.
Australian consumer advocacy group CHOICE places hearing aid prices anywhere between
$AU$1,000 and $10,000, if you're not eligible for a basic free device through a body like Australian
Hearing.

https://mashable.com/2018/05/17/facett-modular-hearing-aid/#cKbi80q5vPqf

Hearing loss and dementia

Dementia Australia produced a help sheet in partnership with Better Hearing Australia, SHHH –
Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Deafness Forum of Australia and Dr Christopher Lind PhD.

The help sheet provides information on what we know about the link between hearing loss,
dementia, and old age, as well as where people can find help.

Download a copy from https://www.dementia.org.au/files/helpsheets/Helpsheet-

OtherInformation04-HearingLoss_english.pdf
How Australia is leading the world for custom headphones
Seemingly out of nowhere, Australia is becoming a powerhouse of audio
equipment that users can personalise to match their hearing.

Audeara, a start-up out of Brisbane, has released Bluetooth headphones that

make up for any deficiencies in their owner's hearing, based on a conventional
by John Davidson
hearing test the owner takes when they first set up the headphones.

Nuheara, a start-up out of Perth, has released Bluetooth earbuds that do a similar thing, albeit
with a more simplified hearing test, that can also act like hearing aids for the pub-deaf, pulling
voices out of crowds and hiding the background noise.

Nura, a start-up out of Melbourne, has released a pair of headphones that offer a more gentle
adjustment to their sound, based around a hearing test similar to the test hospitals give newborn
babies.

The Nuraphones feature an earbud inside a headphone.

As it happens, though, the trend hasn't come out of nowhere. It turns out Australia has a long
track record of expertise in the very skills that are coming to the fore in the era of Bluetooth
headphones, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s and Australia's world-beating cochlear implant
technology.

"Australia has a disproportionate number of people who know about hearing science," says Luke
Campbell, co-founder and chief technology officer of Nura, which makes the Nuraphone
headphones based on work he did while completing a doctorate in cochlear implants at the
University of Melbourne, the same place Professor Graeme Clark worked on the bionic ear 50
years ago before going on to found Cochlear Ltd.

"While there are people around the world who have deep expertise in biology and hearing science,
and people who have a lot of expertise in signal processing, it's oddly uncommon for people to
have expertise across the board", says Nura CEO Dragan Petrovic.

From The Financial Review,

http://www.afr.com/technology/how-australia-is-leading-the-world-for-custom-headphones-20180518-h1091e
2018 Libby Harricks Memorial Oration
The 20th annual Libby Harricks Memorial Oration was given in Sydney last week by Dr Graeme
Innes AM. Dr Innes is a former commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission,
responsible for issues relating to disability, race and human rights.

The Oration was a key-note address during the Audiology Australia 2018 national conference.

The Libby Harricks Memorial Oration series honours the memory of the first President of Deafness
Forum of Australia. Since 1999, the series has raised awareness of key issues relating to hearing
loss and deafness.

Pictured l to r: David Harricks, Robert Cowan (The HEARing CRC), Oration presenter Graeme
Innes AM, Jenny Rosen AM (former chair of Libby Harricks Memorial Oration Committee),
Christopher Lind (current chair of the Oration Committee), Jason Ridgway (president of Audiology
Australia) and David Brady (chair of Deafness Forum of Australia).
Auslan classes taking off with the help of a dedicated mum
By Samantha Jonscher, ABC West Coast SA

PHOTO: Bronwyn and Lacota enjoy an afternoon together at the local playground. (ABC West
Coast SA: Samantha Jonscher)

When Lacota Warland was born, his mother Bronwyn never thought they would be able to
communicate. But 14 years on mother and son talk constantly — thanks to sign language.

"It's just beautiful to be able to communicate with someone you never thought you would be able
to communicate with," Ms Warland said.

But learning Auslan on a farm near Port Lincoln in South Australia was difficult. In urban centres,
TAFE, private organisations and public institutions offer face-to-face tuition in sign language. But
in regional Australia, very few of these services exist.

When Lacota was three, the pair started learning Auslan through video conferencing with the
Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in Sydney. When Bronwyn learned new signs and
grammar, she would pass them on to Lacota and her mother-in-law, Faye Austin.

"But it's a very difficult language to learn over Skype," Ms Warland said.

"You can look at all the stuff on the internet, but actually having that face to face and someone
coming around and actually correcting your finger positions works much better."
With few options available for those hoping to learn Auslan in-person in Australia's regions, Ms
Warland and Ms Austin decided to organise their own classes at the local library.

"We found that there was definite need in the community. Many people had spoken to me over
many years, saying how they would love to learn it, but there was nowhere to access it."

"It's not just about us, or about our family. We need to be more open to people that need to use
sign. From the moment that he learned his first sign it lessened his anxiety and opened up a
whole world for him."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-13/auslan-taking-off-in-regional-australia/9756530

DeafTones perform in Ireland’s Got Talent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JDab6imFLI

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