The Australian
Edition 1FRI 08 NOV 2002, Page 012
Indigenous children most at risk
By Sarah Bryden-Brown

EVERY parent knows the signs: tugging at the ear, rosy cheeks, difficulty sleeping, a temperature and constant irritability.
Middle-ear infection is common in childhood, but the rate at which it occurs in many remote Aboriginal communities is particularly alarming.
A quick trip to the doctor for a course of antibiotics is an easy option for most families, but many Aboriginal children lose part or all of their hearing as a result of untreated infections.
A recurring middle-ear infection that becomes so infected that the ear drains pus continuously is known as chronic suppurative otitis media, or CSOM. It affects as many as 60 per cent to 70 per cent of children in the six remote Northern Territory communities Paul Bauert visits as a pediatrician and president of the NT branch of the Australian Medical Association.
Bauert says the World Health Organisation considers communities with a higher than 4 per cent rate of chronic middle-ear infections a public health disaster. ``CSOM causes a loss of around 40dB of hearing in a child,'' he says. ``Profound deafness means you have lost 70dB. So these children can still learn language, but where it is disastrous for them is in the classroom and ongoing education.''
Bauert says there is no genetic reason for Aboriginal children to experience such a high rate of middle-ear infection. It is rampant because of poverty and overcrowding. Infections regularly go unchecked or parents can't afford the medicines to treat them and so they become chronic.
``Some communities are trying to turn it around by targeting and treating middle-ear disease. It's important the kids' ears are mopped regularly, to stop them draining pus, and then antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drops administered,'' he says.
Children living in communities that fail to address middle-ear infections face deafness. Hearing aids are not always a viable option because hot weather and a lack of hygiene can result in further infections.
Caption:  Concerned: Bauert
Illus:  Photo
Section:  FEATURES Type:  Series

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