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Chris Valerie Brennan-Jones Swift PhD Head, Ear and Hearing Health Aboriginal Co-Director, Djaalinj Waakinj Centre for Ear and Hearing Health;

Telemedicine, particularly real time video-otoscopy in rural and remote Australia holds great potential in assessing and managing otology conditions. There is good evidence of store and forward images for assessment, however limited evidence exists for the use of real-time video-otoscopy. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of using real time video-otoscopy, compared to standard store and forward still image otoscopy, in a paediatric population.

One third of children require repeat ventilation tube insertion (VTI) for otitis media. Disease recurrence is associated with persistent middle ear bacterial biofilms. With demonstration that Dornase alfa (a DNase) disrupts middle ear effusion biofilms ex vivo, we identified potential for this as an anti-biofilm therapy to prevent repeat VTI. First, safety and tolerability needed to be measured.

To investigate the long-term effects of early-life recurrent otitis media (OM) and subsequent behavioural problems in children at the age of 10 years.

Investigating the impact of early childhood ventilation tube insertion (VTI) on long-term language outcomes. 

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions. Due to variable rates of language growth in children under 5 years, the early identification of children with DLD is challenging. Early indicators are often outlined by speech pathology regulatory bodies and other developmental services as evidence to empower caregivers in the early identification of DLD.

Describe the ear and hearing outcomes in Aboriginal infants in an Australian urban area. Aboriginal infants enrolled in the Djaalinj Waakinj prospective cohort study had ear health screenings at ages 2-4, 6-8 and 12-18 months and audiological assessment at ∼12 months of age. Sociodemographic, environmental characteristics, otoscopy, otoacoustic emissions, tympanometry and visual reinforcement audiometry data were collected.

Chronic tinnitus during childhood/adolescence can be associated with impaired quality of life. Guidelines for managing paediatric tinnitus recommend assessment and interventions are often based upon the experiences and opinions of guideline committee members.

The Raine Study is a long-running study looking at the health and well-being of a group of Western Australian families for over 35 years. Participants are at the heart of the study, shaping its research direction and communication. While participants have previously contributed to research grant development, they had not been directly involved in setting the Raine Study’s overall research agenda.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory infection with a higher burden in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and children. We conducted a pilot qualitative study identifying disease knowledge and willingness to immunise following the changing immunisation landscape for infant RSV in 2024.