12 February 2015 

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.

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.

Senate committee recommends damaging changes to Australia’s TV captioning standards The Senate committee which recently reviewed the government’s 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 government’s 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-proposed-captioning-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 cliché 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 Hearing’s 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.

VICDEAF GASLIGHTFESTIVAL2015

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

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 (o� Gordon Street), Wodonga

Whats on:Filming Workshop with Turquoise Australia

Cooking Classes with Auslan Cooking ClassesGol�ng 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 ClubDeaf 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 AndersonOpenAccess apps from Conexu with Phil Harper

Workshops for Deaf and KODA young people with Australian Theatre of the Deaf

Culminating with a stunning performance from Australian Theatre of the Deaf

Note: The program may be subject to change at any time.

TICKETSNOW SELLING

www.gaslightfestival.com.au

Buy tickets online to avoid lengthy

queue

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.

"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

Audiologist Sue Tuck travels to the Northern Territory twice a year to help improve the hearing of indigenous and remote communities. (Sophie Kesteven - ABC)

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 that’s not bad enough, she broke a lot of her own communication rules along the way. Here’s Gael’s advice for your next trip. Don’t 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 didn’t understand him, so I just repeated my request. Maybe he was trying to tell me they couldn’t provide the particular rescue guy I’d requested. I’ll never know because I bluffed—and 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 wasn’t 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_campaign=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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