Healthy ears for Nyngan children as mobile project visits for the first time
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HEALTHY: Bonnie Smith gets her ears checked with Lucy from the Healthy Ears Program. Photos: ZAARKACHA MARLAN
WORKING TOGETHER: The Hear our Heart bus visits Nyngan. Photos: ZAARKACHA MARLAN
Nyngan Health Child and Family Nurse Catherine Healey and audiologist Karen Campbell.
The Hear our Heart Bus visited Nyngan for the first time this week, working with the Nyngan Community Health Service to provide hearing checks to children in the town.
The mobile project has been popular among a number of communities in the central west, and seeks to provide ongoing ear checks to children in the community.
Hear our Hearts was established by hearing support teachers who identified that regular hearing checks were not occurring in their communities and wanted to improve awareness and understanding of the prevalence and impact of Otitis Media in children across the area.
As a result the charity seeks to provide support with the identification, treatment pathway and improvement of educational outcomes for children involved.
Hearing support worker and media officer Virginia Redenbach said its the first time the mobile service has been in Nyngan, which is now able to provide normal hearing tests inside the soundproof bus.
“The aim is that we can come to you, so that parents dont have to travel to Dubbo and have that inconvenience,” she said.
“We test from 6 months to 18 years, irrespective if you are Indigenous or non-Indigenous … its irrespective of weather you are publicly or privately schooled or use child care facilities.”
Ms Redenbach said the project is also aiming to provide the healthy ears education program in local schools as of next year.
“Healthy ears promotes ear health and its a program that we teach in schools using our puppets Sam and Lucy,” Ms Redenbach said.
“We have a healthy ears educator, Therese whose a fully qualified teacher, and its envisaged that she will come to Nyngan schools and not only teach the kids healthy ears but also do teacher education and training as well.
“Simple things like hand washing and nose blowing is a good way to reduce and help encourage healthy ears.”
Recently the project has received a five-year grant through the Walter and Eliza Hall Foundation providing more staff, however Ms Redenbach said ongoing fundraising is necessary to keep the bus on the road.
For more information contact Catherine Healey at the Nyngan Multipurpose centre for advice on the next testing day, or contact the office in Dubbo on 6884 8751.
For more information visit: www.hearourheart.org/ or follow the group on Facebook.
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Nyngan Observer
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