News and Stories
In Queensland, free newborn hearing screening is offered to babies born across all public and private hospitals. Hear and Say was among the many organisations who strongly campaigned for the introduction of universal newborn hearing screening, which came into effect in Queensland in 2004. Delivered by Queensland Health, the Healthy Hearing Program works to ensure that any newborn hearing loss is picked up early, so that children can go on to reach their full speech and language potential. If a newborn receives a “refer” result on their hearing screening, families can access free, ...
As the earliest teachers for their children, parents and carers play a critical role in their child’s speech and language development. Hear and Say Listening and Spoken Language Specialist and qualified speech pathologist, Liz Morosini outlines some of the basic practices families can use at home. These strategies encourage speech and language development – regardless of whether a child has a hearing loss or not. Talk to your child: speak about everything you see and hear around you as you go about your day together. This provides plenty of language stimulation to further ...
Following years of nudging from family, it was the chance reading of an article that finally prompted avid cyclist, Peter Lovell to take the first step towards getting his hearing tested. “There was a promotion in Bicycle Queensland’s newsletter offering members a free hearing screen through Hear and Say. It caught my attention as my family had been putting the pressure on for a long time for me to get my hearing checked,” said Peter. “Until that point, I’d been resisting. At the back of my mind was the annoyance I have constantly felt at having to wear glasses everyday for my ...
If you or someone you know has had a hearing test, you might have seen a chart like this: Known as an audiogram, this graph (shown blank above) indicates the softest sounds someone can hear across the main speech frequencies (low, mid and high pitch sounds). Where your results fall on the audiogram reflects which speech and environmental sounds, if any, aren’t being heard well – or at all. How do you read an audiogram? At the top of the graph, the numbers ranging from 250 to 12,000 hertz (Hz) represent sound frequencies, from low pitch across to high pitch – similar to the keys ...
Does your toddler need a hearing test and you’re unsure what to expect? Hear and Say Audiologist, Sharon Bruna sits down to explain how the process works. “Having a hearing check is usually a fun, positive and painless experience for toddlers or young children,” said Sharon. “There are two main types of hearing tests for this age group – behavioural testing and objective (electrophysiological) testing. The latter is typically used to test hearing for babies under six months of age, but both tests have their advantages and it’s useful to have results from both types of tests ...
As one of the first children to attend Hear and Say back in 1992, Megan has witnessed the radical changes in hearing technology across the past three decades. “It’s incredible to see how far cochlear implant and hearing aid technology has come, even in my lifetime,” reflected Megan, who will celebrate her 30th birthday later this year. “When I got my first cochlear implant, I had a box that I’d wear with a cord attached to my implant on my head. Over time the processor got smaller and smaller and now it just sits behind the ear.” Born profoundly deaf, Megan’s hearing ...
With a decades-long career in sports administration – including officiating at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics wheelchair rugby – Stan Battock’s passion for all things sport has inspired much of his professional and personal life. It was then somewhat fitting that it was a promotion running in Bicycle Queensland’s newsletter that tipped Stan’s decision to get his hearing tested, following years of prompting from family. “The offer of a free hearing screen with Hear and Say was timely, as my wife had been urging me to get my hearing checked,” recalled Stan, aged 65. “My ...
Playing sports is a pillar of Australian culture, for many children and adults alike. Typically, having an implantable hearing device such as a cochlear implant or bone anchored hearing aid doesn’t mark the end of getting out there with your local team. That said, there are some careful considerations to think through before heading out onto the field or into the water – and as we’re all unique, you should always check with your audiologist or doctor about what’s safe for you. Non-contact sports Non-contact sports such as athletics are ideal for people who wear cochlear ...
Around seven million Australians – almost 30 per cent of the population – currently live in rural and remote areas (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017). Particularly in a state as vast as Queensland, geographic isolation can mean families risk missing access to health and wellbeing services – hence the critical importance of initiatives such as Hear and Say’s Telepractice program. For over a decade, the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation has worked alongside Hear and Say to empower regional Queensland children who are deaf or hard of hearing to achieve the same outcomes as their ...
Every second person knows someone with a hearing loss, yet it can up to 10 years for many of us to actually do something about it. From dialling into a Zoom call, to celebrating special occasions with friends or family, to watching TV of an evening, keeping your hearing in check is as important as ever. The reality is hearing loss can happen at any age and often declines without you noticing it. March 1 – 7 marks Hearing Awareness Week and at Hear and Say we’re encouraging everyone to put a regular hearing test on their to-do list. If you, or a loved one is experiencing any of the ...
Maia’s Story
At 9.10pm on 24 October 2013 our beautiful daughter Maia was born.
The moment of elation was short-lived as we immediately noticed her left ear was missing. I frantically looked to the medical team around me for answers but received none.
Panic set in as we waited 4 days in hospital for an ENT to explain her condition, by which point we already had all the answers from Simone, who runs the Microtia and Atresia Program at Hear and Say.
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