Child hearing loss more common in culturally and linguistically diverse families

Children from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families are more likely to have hearing loss compared to their ethnic majority peers, research led by The University of Queensland has found.

Researchers analysed 1,469 children aged 11-12 living in Australia, finding that the children from CALD backgrounds had 58 per cent higher odds of hearing loss compared to peers from ethnic majority backgrounds.

PhD student and audiologist Dumini de Silva from UQ’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences said the likelihood of hearing loss was related to several factors including how well children’s parents speak English and how long they have lived in Australia.

“There were higher odds of hearing loss among children from CALD communities whose primary caregivers were more recent immigrants and reported a lower level of English language proficiency,’’ Ms de Silva said.

“A longer residency in Australia reduces the likelihood of hearing loss among children from CALD backgrounds.’’

The study found other reasons for hearing loss could include genetic factors, as well as barriers to accessing and utilising health services such as cultural beliefs, a lack of trust of healthcare institutions and limited availability of interpreting services in hearing clinics.

Researchers recommended targeted hearing screening programs for school-aged children from recently migrated families.

Senior author Professor Piers Dawes of UQ’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences said Australia has one of most diverse populations in the world, with about 1 in 4 Australians who are from a diverse cultural and linguistic background.

“There is a compelling need to investigate inequalities in hearing among Australian children from diverse communities,’’ Professor Dawes said.

“It is essential to understand hearing inequalities and the factors that contribute to it.

“To our knowledge, we are the first to investigate hearing loss among children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in Australia using a population-based sample.’’

The study examined hearing test result data collected from the 2015 Child Health Checkpoint in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. It did not include children with Indigenous backgrounds.

Ms de Silva said future research should further investigate reasons for hearing loss that could then help develop prevention strategies and early detection and intervention programs.

“By understanding factors contributing to hearing loss, strategies can be developed to address hearing loss early,’’ Ms de Silva said.

“Missed or delayed intervention for hearing loss can have lifelong consequences for educational achievements and quality of life.

“It is also important for CALD communities to understand how common hearing loss is among their children; this is essential in setting this disproportion right.

“This would allow parents and caretakers of children from CALD backgrounds to make more informed decisions regarding their children's hearing health and seek timely advice.’’

The research is published in Ear and Hearing.