Ear health of Aboriginal primary school children in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia

Abstract

The ear health and state of hearing of 642 Aboriginal children living in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia in 1989 was assessed by audiometry, otoscopy and tympanometry in order to establish the efficacy of the existing ear health prognam. A heavy burden of ear disease and hearing loss is reported and the findings are compared with previous surveys. A conclusion is drawn that the ear health of this population has not improved in the last decade.