Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the motion put forward by the member for Parramatta in recognition of National Week of Deaf People. This provides an opportunity for those people with hearing impairment or deafness to celebrate their communities and their achievements and also the awareness of local, state and national communities to be promoted in this week. And, of course, the parliament's current pilot captioning program in the House and the Senate is also to be acknowledged.

I find it an absolute privilege to be here to speak about deaf week. It is also the 125th anniversary of Deaf Can Do of the Royal South Australian Deaf Society. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them on continuing to provide such essential, vital, services to people who are deaf and hearing impaired in South Australia. I have seen the good work that they do firsthand.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, one in six Australians are affected by hearing loss. There are approximately 30,000 deaf Auslan users, with total hearing loss. Hearing loss, as we all now, can be acquired through illness, accident, exposure to certain drugs and chemicals, or as part of the normal ageing process. I am someone who does have a hearing loss—even though my wife says it is only through choice when I want to have a hearing loss; but that is not quite correct. I lost the hearing in my right ear back in 2007, when I was in this place in the first term, through illness. I had a very bad cold. As a member of parliament, you continue, like we all do, to go to functions—you do not stop. That cold then turned into pneumonia. I had a week off—the only week I have ever had off since being in this place. After the virus had gone, I was still very short of hearing in my right hear. I just could not quite hear. I went to the doctor and they kept on saying it will clear up. After about three to six months when it had not cleared up, I went to a specialist et cetera. I was one of those unfortunate people, one in 1,000, where the bacteria or the virus affects the cochlear. I have lost nearly 50 per cent of the hearing in my right ear. Even though it is only minor and I can still hear out of my right ear, I see the frustration—let alone how it must be for someone who has no hearing at all—that you go through sometimes when you are in a crowded room, in a restaurant, where it is very loud. That is why this motion is very important.

One in six Australians—30,000—are completely deaf. Between nine and 12 children per 10,000 will be born with a moderate or greater hearing loss in both ears. Around another 23 children per 10,000 through accident, illness or other causes will acquire a hearing impairment that requires hearing aids by the age of 17. Each year, Australian Hearing fits around 2,000 children with hearing aids for the first time. In addition, hearing loss is also part of the natural ageing process, as I said earlier, with over half the population aged between 60 and 70 having a hearing loss. That means all of us in this room at some stage will end up with some hearing loss. This increases to more than 70 per cent of those over the age of 70, and 80 per cent of those over the age of 80.

According to Access Economics, the most significant cause of hearing loss in Australia is exposure to excessive noise. We all know about this with people who have worked in factories. Even tax drivers whom I have met who have retired have acquired a hearing loss from having their right ear constantly exposed to traffic noise. These are things that you do not think about while you are working. Exposure to noise makes up around 37 per cent of all cases. Loud noise can cause irreversible hearing damage, as it harms the delicate hearing mechanism within the inner ear.

As members of parliament, we are privileged to attend many functions of many organisations, and one particular organisation in my electorate that I have attended is Kilparrin Teaching and Assessment School and Services, which has children with hearing impairment. It is located in Park Holme in my electorate. The school provides onsite preschool programs and state-wide support services for students with disabilities, including those with hearing disabilities. They do wonderful work, and I would like to congratulate them for everything they do for children who are deaf in my electorate.

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