Hearing Health and Wellbeing

Hearing Health and Wellbeing

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport are holding an Inquiry into the Hearing Health and Wellbeing of Australia. HEARsmart has previously made a submission (number 32) to this inquiry outlining the importance of hearing health and the potential dangers of exposure to loud sound. We outlined some of our relevant research in this area and highlighted the need for greater awareness. We also waxed lyrical about our desire to work with high-risk populations to create this awareness, while also promoting actions that can prevent tinnitus and hearing loss for future generations.

We were delighted to be invited to speak at the public hearing in Melbourne on May 1st and the CEO of our parent organisation, Prof Bob Cowan from the HEARing CRC, took the platform to represent our submission and provide a real insight into the work we are doing.

September 2017 update: The report from the Inquiry has been released under the title: Still waiting to be heard … . The findings reflect those of a previous Inquiry held in 2010 and chapter 4 is dedicated to research and prevention of hearing loss (indeed, box 4.2 on page 80 details the HEARsmart campaign).

We fully support the recommendations outlined, in particular, recommendation 6 which calls for a national awareness-raising campaign for hearing health!