Helping young Australians to hear - new hearing aid fittings since July 1
Each year, some 2,500 – 3,000 children, teens and young adults receive their first hearing aids from Hearing Australia.
Hearing loss can be present at birth, or can develop later as a result of chronic ear infections, genetics, syndromes, illness or injury.
Hearing aids can be fitted at any age; in 2020 our youngest hearing aid recipient was less than one month old. To learn more about the characteristics of young Australians who use a hearing aid or cochlear implant, click here to read our latest demographic report.
The table below shows the number of young Australians who have received their first hearing aids since July 1, 2021 and were aged under 26 years at the time of fitting.
Notes:
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Data cannot be compared directly with our annual demographic report, which is a snapshot of aided/implanted young Australians at 31 December.
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Some children are fitted with hearing aids to assist while they are waiting for medical treatment to resolve their ear and hearing problems. They may stop using a hearing aid during the year because their ear condition and hearing improves. Some clients may choose to stop using their hearing aids for other reasons.
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Clients are recorded according to their state of residence at the time the report was updated. Therefore, some clients may be counted in different state/territory totals over the course of the year.
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This data should be used cautiously when estimating the uptake of specialist early intervention or education supports. Families consider a range of factors when deciding their choice of support, the time at which they enrol in a program and the time at which they test their eligibility for funding supports such as the NDIS. To read more about this topic click here.
State
|
Age at first fitting
|
0-6 years
|
7-12 years
|
13 - 18 years
|
19-25 years
|
Grand Total
|
ACT
|
15
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
30
|
NSW
|
367
|
118
|
74
|
70
|
629
|
NT
|
39
|
26
|
8
|
6
|
79
|
QLD
|
352
|
146
|
66
|
62
|
626
|
SA
|
74
|
49
|
33
|
22
|
178
|
TAS
|
26
|
12
|
5
|
11
|
54
|
VIC
|
334
|
127
|
79
|
72
|
612
|
WA
|
181
|
93
|
56
|
35
|
365
|
Grand Total
|
1388
|
575
|
326
|
284
|
2573
|
Young Australians who were eligible for the CSO program on 30 April 2022 and were fitted with their first hearing aids from 1 July 2021, to 30 April, 2022.