” This AIHW report presents information on ear and hearing health outreach services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the Northern Territory. The Australian Government funded these programs and the Northern Territory Government delivered them.

Download the Report HERE : Ear and Hearing Program

AIHW Page and summary in Section 1 Below

” This is the second report on oral health services funded by the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Oral Health Program and the Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment Oral Health Program (NTRAI OHP). It covers the period from July 2012 to December 2015.

Where available, data from August 2007 to June 2012 have been included to allow examination of the effect of oral health services over the life course of associated programs delivered in the Northern Territory.”

Download the Report HERE : NT Remote Aboriginal Investment Oral Health Program

AIHW Page and summary in Section 2 Below

Section 1 : Ear and Hearing Service delivery

• In 2015-16, 2,253 outreach audiology services were provided to 1,981 children and young people; and 1,011 ear, nose and throat (ENT) teleotology services were provided to 936 children and young people.
• Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) conducted 1,211 visits to 1,125 children in 2015-16. This was an increase from 2014-15 when 668 CNS visits were provided to 622 children.
• From July 2012 to June 2016, 9,221 outreach audiology services were provided to 5,357 children and young people, 3,799 ENT teleotology services were provided to 2,434 children and young people, and CNS conducted 3,087 visits to 2,614 children.

Improvement in hearing health status

• The levels of hearing loss and impairment have improved slightly over the last 4 years. In 2015-16, 49% of Indigenous children had some type of hearing loss (compared with 52% in 2012-13) and 32% had a hearing impairment (compared with 37% in 2012-13).
• Between July 2012 and June 2016, hearing improved for a large proportion of children and young people who received 2 or more audiology services. Almost half (48%) of the children who had hearing loss at their first service showed improvement in hearing at their last service.
• More than half (59%) of children and young people had a reduction in the degree of their hearing impairment between July 2012 and June 2016.

Improvement in hearing health and ear conditions

• From July 2012 to June 2016, the proportion of children and young people with at least one middle ear condition decreased from 82% to 75% between their first and last service.
• Greater decreases were observed over the longer term. From August 2007 to June 2016, the proportion diagnosed with any ear condition decreased from 78% to 49% between their first and last service.

High demand on hearing and ear health services

A large number of hearing and ear health services have been provided, but there is much work yet to do. As at 30 June 2016, 3,090 children and young people were waiting for audiology services, and 1,841 for ENT teleotology services. While ensuring children most in need received services (through the priority listing system), a number of changes have been made to improve the overall efficiency of hearing health services, including enhancing CNS services, health promotion and education activities. However, the high demand on hearing and ear health services continues to be driven by the high prevalence of middle ear conditions among children and the chronic nature of the disease, which means the majority of children require repeated and long-term follow-up services.

Section 2 Oral Health Preventive services

Fluoride varnish treatment

• In 2014 and 2015, 4,664 and 4,041 Indigenous children and adolescents received 5,054 and 4,441 full-mouth fluoride varnish (FV) applications, respectively. Compared with the previous report period (July 2012 to December 2013), the number of Indigenous children and adolescents who received full-mouth FV applications generally increased.
• From July 2012 to December 2015, a total of 10,052 Indigenous children and adolescents received 13,541 full-mouth FV applications.

Fissure sealant treatment

• In 2014 and 2015, 2,179 and 1,804 Indigenous children and adolescents received 2,323 and 1,943 fissure sealant applications, respectively. Compared with the previous report period (January to December 2013), the number of Indigenous children and adolescents who received fissure sealant applications generally increased.
• From July 2012 to December 2015, a total of 5,324 Indigenous children and adolescents received 6,477 fissure sealant applications.

Clinical services (for example, fillings for tooth decay, and tooth extractions)

• In 2014 and 2015, 3,159 and 3,378 occasions of clinical service were provided to 2,407 and 2,533 Indigenous children and adolescents, respectively. The number of Indigenous
• children and adolescents who received clinical services decreased from 2013 to 2014, but increased from 2014 to 2015.
• From July 2012 to December 2015, a total of 7,660 Indigenous children and adolescents were provided with 12,739 occasions of clinical service.

Oral health status of service recipients

• In 2014 and 2015, the average number of decayed, missing and filled deciduous (baby) teeth was highest among service recipients aged 6—at 5.4 and 5.6, respectively; the average number for permanent teeth was highest among those aged 15—at 4.1 and 3.7.

Changes over time

• The proportion of service recipients with experience of tooth decay decreased for most age groups between 2009 and 2015. The greatest decreases was found in the following age groups: for those aged 1–3, from 73% to 42%; for 5-year-olds, from 88% to 79%; and for 12-year-olds, from 81% to 69%.
• Among children and adolescents who received at least 2 services within each program, those receiving services during the NTRAI OHP had a smaller increase in tooth decay, on average, than those in the Child Health Check Initiative Closing the Gap Program.