Page 3488 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 15 November 2006
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Direct health costs to the health system are estimated at $674 million in 2005. That includes hearing aids and cochlear implants. It says that 27 per cent of health expenditure—about $67 million—is on children aged less than 14 years, who comprise less than one per cent of people with hearing loss, while noting that needs may be higher and impacts greater for children. Remember that children represent a very small percentage of it, but 27 per cent of the health expenditure is on children. As Mr Gentleman pointed out, early intervention is the key to some of this.
The report went on to try and quantify what is the quality of impact of life for somebody with hearing loss. This is worked out in disability adjusted life years, or DALYs. The estimated loss is $11.3 billion in net terms. That is some 3.8 per cent of the total burden of disease from all causes in Australia. Deafness at four per cent is clearly a serious issue.
The report says that, for those of us that do not have hearing loss, severe hearing loss is comparable to having pneumonia on an ongoing basis. Imagine waking up every day with pneumonia. That is the level of burden that it projects. A dilemma is highlighted in the report on page 7. What are the projections? Is it getting better or is it getting worse? It goes on to say:
Projections of hearing loss suggest that hearing loss in the worse ear is expected to more than double by 2050 (a 2.2-fold increase).
The report says that the prevalence of hearing loss overall is projected to increase from 17.4 per cent—ie, one in six Australians—in 2005 to 26.7 per cent, or more than one in four, in 2050. It goes on to say that a significant amount of hearing loss—37 per cent—is due to excessive noise exposure. There are issues there that we certainly need to look at. It says that the impact of a person’s loss depends on the intersection of three key factors: the time the person acquires their hearing loss, which is very relevant to what Mr Gentleman is saying here today; the severity of the hearing loss; and the communications demand then facing the individual.
When we look at hearing loss in children it is commonly congenital—ie, the child is born with it—but there are other factors that can cause it. I think of concern for all of us is that, particularly among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, there is a particular ear disease called otitis media. The numbers are very vague, but the prevalence in Aboriginal children was reported from community to community to vary between 10 and 54 per cent. So we clearly have issues there.
Hearing loss across Australia in comparison to other countries in a way is good. Australia’s hearing loss in new births per 1,000 is about 1.2, on international studies. In America it is something like 2.5. The United Kingdom has got it down to 0.9 per 1,000. Obviously there are things we can address.
I note that Dr Foskey has circulated a motion saying that we need to make sure parents are informed. Clearly, early intervention is something we should look at. The real problem for many people is the way it affects them in their lives. The biggest impact is often in education. I notice the minister is here. I am sure he is going to have a few words to say. Turning to the projections for children, it says:
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