The NT Office of Senior Territorians and Charles Darwin University (CDU) have joined forces to offer free hearing screenings and information sessions for Hearing Awareness Week, 20-26 August.
Dr Al Yonovitz, a sensory psychologist and audiologist, along with Nancy Dold, also an audiologist, are offering their services to staff and students experiencing hearing difficulties.
As many as one in five Australians have some form of hearing impairment and half the population aged over 60 have a significant hearing loss.
“The free hearing tests will provide the opportunity for people to find out how good their hearing is, learn how to protect it and hopefully improve the hearing of the whole community in the long term,” says Dr Yonovitz, a lecturer with the School of Health Sciences at CDU.
“Untreated hearing loss can affect social, emotional, educational, psychological as well as physical well being,” Dr Yonovitz added.
Many people take their hearing for granted when in fact the ability to hear is one of the key elements of effective communication. It is especially important in the Northern Territory as hearing loss has been shown to create a greater impairment for those that have learned English as a second language.
Noise is the number one cause of preventable hearing loss and Dr Yonovitz fears that a whole generation of MP3 users listening to loud sound may present with hearing deficits in the future.
Hearing loss among Aboriginal children is one of the highest in the world and estimates are as high as 80 per cent. Dr Yonovitz and Ms Dold have conducted studies related to the connection between literacy and hearing loss and currently have two Department of Education, Science and Training grants that provide a literacy program especially designed for Aboriginal children and adults with hearing impairment.
Students and staff may have their hearing tested at no cost by contacting the Hearing Resource Centre in the psychology group.
For additional information contact Dr Al Yonovitz on 8946 6948.