Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

For some people their favourite Alfred Hitchcock movie is Rear Window but mine is Vertigoand that is because I am a James Stewart fan for a start and I thought that Kim Novak was pretty hot. One of the things we would say today about the character played by James Stewart—Scotty, if I remember rightly—who is a former police detective who becomes a private eye and suffers from vertigo is that he had Meniere's disease.

We know a lot more about it these days than they did in 1954, when the novel was written, and when the movie was produced and filmed, in 1958. Medical science has developed a lot since that time, and there has been much development in this area.

Sadly, the character in the movie is affected in such a graphic way and shows all the symptoms on Meniere's disease—the vertigo, the dizziness, the nausea. All those symptoms are displayed clearly in the Jimmy Stewart character. I think the novelist was describing someone who had Meniere's disease, and Alfred Hitchcock did a terrific job in that.

The government has provided advice through the competitive funding rounds, the research base and the hearing loss prevention program and the National Health and Medical Research Council medical research grants. But there is a lot more to be done. We have provided assistance and advice to the Office of Hearing Services with information about what steps can be undertaken and what funding sources are available from state and territory governments as well as some private sources.

This is a chronic incurable condition of the inner ear and it produces a range of debilitating side effects, ergo Scottie in Vertigo. It can affect hearing and balance to a varying degree and there are different stages, as the member for Shortland said. It is characterised by a period of vertigo. All of us who have played sport and had a hard knock or felt unwell would have experienced vertigo. Imagine how debilitating it would be to have that on a daily basis. Then there is the low-pitched tinnitus. My wife has had tinnitus for quite some time and I know how it has impacted on her. But there is hearing loss as well. This is a terrible condition which affects people. All the symptoms that previous speakers have talked about really show the impact it has on people's lives—from mild annoyance to chronic lifelong disability.

I am sure there are many people with Meniere's disease amongst the 800,000 people on disability pensions in this country. Sadly, it is not diagnosed as freely and effectively as it should be. Meniere's Australia is a not-for-profit organisation and, like so many in our electorates across the states and territories, they do great work in advising and informing people of the condition and assisting the understanding and appreciation of what these people suffer from. Many years ago there would have been tremendous misunderstanding about this condition. People would have been accused of faking it. People would have said, 'What's wrong with you?' This is a real condition that affects a lot of people.

Meniere's Australia provide fora for health professionals and individuals who experience these problems. They seek funding opportunities and they provide information and resources to doctors and allied health professionals who deal with the people who suffer from this condition. One of the most constructive things a person can do if diagnosed with this condition is to learn as much about it as possible. These supports groups are extremely valuable. I would urge anyone in my electorate who suffers from these conditions to seek medical advice. This disease affects about 190 per 100,000. Gender studies indicate that women are more likely than men to suffer from this condition. There is no definitive test for Meniere's disease. It can only be diagnosed when all other things are excluded. I was recently talking to Dr David Careless, a physician in my electorate, in relation to another disease and he told me there are many diseases like this where you only work out what the condition is after doing all the tests. He said it has been his sad duty on many occasions to tell a patient that they have chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia or some other condition. It is only after doing all the tests that they understand. Information is critical.

There are things that can be done—environmental changes, dietary changes and exercise—but nothing solves the problem. There is a lot more we can do to ease the stress and anxiety. I commend the member for Dunkley for this motion and I commend Meniere's Australia for the work they do in helping people across the country.

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