St John of God Murdoch Hospital gives kids their hearing back

A free service run at St John of God Murdoch Hospital in Perth is restoring hearing in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, providing what can only be described as life-changing outcomes.
The service provides a free treatment of otitis media (middle-ear disease) as quickly as possible to provide early intervention to prevent language and communication delays and avoid potential permanent hearing loss.
The program is a partnership between the hospital, the Djaalinj Waakinj Aboriginal Ear Health Program, Telethon Kids Institute, Telethon Speech and Hearing, Moorditj Koort Aboriginal Corporation, Cockburn Integrated Health and Paediatric Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist Mr George Sim.
St John of God Murdoch Hospital Chief Executive Officer Ben Edwards says middle-ear disease was prolific among Aboriginal children, with up to 50% affected by eight months of age.
“At a physical level it can cause chronic pain and dizziness,” Mr Edwards says. “It affects their ability to develop language and communications skills, and this rolls through to education outcomes and their ability to integrate socially.
“It leads to poor mental health and behavioral outcomes, and quality of life for these children and their families is reduced significantly.
“Children who can’t hear struggle to hear the world around them and understand it, therefore the world can become a stressful and overwhelming place. It makes them feel vulnerable and leads to a loss of dignity.”
Djaalinj Waakinj, “listening talking” in Noongar language, began as a research project focused on the burden of otitis media and hearing loss in young urban Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Mr Edwards says the collaborative response by many organisations had enabled the hospital to provide free access to the service to Aboriginal children under the age of five with middle-ear disease.
He says that since the program commenced, 22 children have received access to free surgery with minimal wait times to ensure they receive crucial treatment as early as possible.
The program’s success was recently recognised when St John of God Murdoch Hospital won the 2021 HESTA Compassion in Action Social Justice Award.
The award, run for Catholic Health Australia, recognises an individual or team who has shown creativity, commitment, and accomplishment in effecting positive social change.
“The results are instant and profound,” he says. “Kids go into theatre and can’t hear, they come out and they can, and some are speaking.
“It’s bigger than that: they can then learn, play, speak and listen – they can be children again.”
Mr Edwards says there have been many joyful moments in the hospital, and some tears, as a result of the service’s success.
The hospital’s employees have also embraced it, helping to raise thousands of dollars to help fund more treatments.
“It has resonated, as the impact is so easy to see,” he says. “It’s immediate and permanent, and it connects our people to the work they do on a day-to-day basis in a powerful way.
“It has also helped connect them to the Aboriginal community in a very meaningful way.”