Approximately 3.6 million Australians live with hearing loss — and that number is growing as the population ages. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, otitis media (middle ear infection) causes high rates of conductive hearing loss, with profound consequences for language development, education, and social connection. The Deaf community has its own rich language (AUSLAN — Australian Sign Language) and culture. Grant funding supports hearing screening, ear health in Indigenous communities, cochlear implant access, AUSLAN services, and the support services that enable full participation for Deaf and hard of hearing Australians.
Scale
Indigenous ear health crisis
Types of hearing loss
The Deaf community
Many people with profound deafness identify with the Deaf community — a linguistic and cultural community using AUSLAN. For many Deaf Australians, deafness is not a disability but a cultural identity.
Hearing Australia (Commonwealth Hearing Services Programme)
Government-funded hearing services for eligible Australians (pensioners, children, Indigenous Australians).
Newborn Hearing Screening Programme
Universal newborn screening — detecting hearing loss at birth.
NDIS
Hearing-related disability supports including communication devices and cochlear implant maintenance.
Australian Hearing Hub
National research and clinical hub at Macquarie University.
Hear and Say
Cochlear implant and auditory-verbal therapy for children — Queensland-based.
Deafness Forum Australia
Peak body for deafness and hearing loss.
Cochlear Foundation
Cochlear Limited's philanthropic arm — hearing research and access.
RIDBC (Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children)
Education and services for children with hearing or vision impairment.
Aussie Deaf Kids
Parent support and advocacy for deaf children.
Deaf Australia
Representing the Deaf community — AUSLAN and cultural rights.
Aboriginal medical services
Many Indigenous health services have ear health programmes.
Screening and early detection
Indigenous ear health
Cochlear implants and technology
Communication and language
Education
Employment
Aged care
Mental health
Research
In remote Aboriginal communities, otitis media creates a devastating chain:
1. Infant gets recurrent ear infections
2. Conductive hearing loss develops
3. Language acquisition is delayed
4. Child starts school already behind
5. School performance suffers (can't hear the teacher)
6. Educational disadvantage compounds
Early treatment of otitis media — grommets, antibiotics, environmental improvements — can break this chain. Grant funding for Indigenous ear health is an investment in closing Australia's education gap.
Indigenous ear health priority
The ear health crisis in remote Indigenous communities is one of Australia's most documented and preventable health inequities. Applications addressing otitis media — through community health workers, screening, treatment access — are high-priority.
Communication access
Many Deaf Australians cannot access services without AUSLAN interpreters or captioning. Applications supporting communication access — training interpreters, funding captioning — address a systemic inclusion barrier.
Hearing and ageing
The ageing population means hearing loss will dramatically increase. Applications addressing hearing health in older adults — including connection to dementia risk — are increasingly relevant.
Combined with education
In Indigenous communities, hearing loss and educational outcomes are directly connected. Applications that link ear health to school attendance and learning outcomes demonstrate integrated understanding.
Tahua's grants management platform supports hearing health funders and Deaf community organisations — with client tracking, hearing outcome data, programme reach measurement, and the reporting tools that help hearing health funders demonstrate their investment in access and inclusion for Deaf and hard of hearing Australians.