Natasha Gallardo, the NFDHH chief exec (National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) who was diagnosed with hearing loss as a teenager. Photo: NFDHH / Brett Phibbs
The National Foundation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing has been running a programme in some High Schools aimed at identifying students' undetected hearing loss. In the last survey, of 15 High Schools, there were alarming results. One in five young people had abnormal screening results and more than 30 percent complained of ringing in their ears, or tinnitus which can lead to hearing loss in the future. Foundation Chief Executive Natasha Gallardo is calling for a government funded nationwide adolescent hearing screening programme. Newborns are screened, then 4 year olds have a before-school check, but she says there is nothing else during the school years to pick up potential hearing loss.
