Logo design: Kyara Fernando

For the first time, both eye and ear health in Australia are being assessed in a national study of the prevalence, risk factors and impacts of vision and hearing loss in the community.

The  Australian Eye and Ear Health Survey (AEEHS) will examine close to 5,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal Australians over a period of two years.

Findings from the study will contribute to Australia’s commitment to eradicate avoidable blindness in fulfilment of the United Nations General Assembly resolution Vision for Everyone: accelerating action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals; and Integrated people-centred eye care, including preventable vision impairment and blindness, adopted by World Health Organisation Member States.

The survey will also fulfil several of the key priorities and actions outlined in Australian Government’s Roadmap for Hearing Health.

Australian Eye & Ear Health Survey sites

The Survey is a cross-sectional study intended to document the prevalence of vision and hearing impairment among 1,750 Indigenous and 3,250 non-Aboriginal Australians across 30 nation-wide sites. The study follows the National Eye Health Survey conducted in 2015/6 and aims to establish a time series for the purposes of trend analysis in changes in eye diseases. It is also a unique survey of ear health.

In addition to this, the AEEHS design will aim to provide:

  • Improved representativeness of the population via higher participation rates, and site distribution that is reflective of the Australian population
  • Improved eye disease detection, using pupil dilation plus new non-invasive, objective imaging technologies, and
  • Additional data collection, informing links between vision loss/ eye disease/ ear disease with critical health/ social outcomes.

The ear health component will also help to fulfil key priorities and actions outlined in the Australian Government’s Roadmap for Hearing Health. Specifically, it is likely to inform the:

  • Development of a national database on hearing loss
  • Facilitate the standardised national reporting of hearing loss; and
  • Development of a national set of key performance indicators for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ear and hearing health.

Our People

AEEHS Investigators

AEEHS Support Staff

  • Miss Shanelle Sorbello (Project Manager) - The Westmead Institute for Medical Research
  • Miss Alemka Davis (Aboriginal Project Officer) - Brien Holden Foundation
  • Mr Rhys Smith (Aboriginal Project Officer) - Macquarie University
  • Dr Diana Tang (Research Fellow) - Macquarie University
  • Dr Vu Do (Research Fellow) - The Westmead Institute for Medical Research

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee Members

  • Associate Professor Kristopher Rallah-Baker
  • Lauren Hutchison - Aboriginal Optometrist,  Consultant, Brien Holden Foundation
  • Nicole Turner - Chairperson, Indigenous Allied Health Australia
  • Shaun Tatipata - Owner of Deadly Enterprises,  Consultant, Indigenous Eye Health
  • Dr Leanne Holt -Pro-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy) and Adjunct Academic Fellow, Macquarie University
  • Kim Gates - Executive Manager of Public Health and Continuous Quality Improvement, ACHWA
  • Sowmya Rao - Wide Ear Health Coordinator, VACCHO
  • Chris Rektsinis - Eye Health Project Officer, ACHSA
  • Samantha Harkus - Principal Audiologist, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services, Hearing Australia
  • Carla Puca - Eye Health Program Officer, AHCWA
  • Sharon Hill - Assistant Director – Chronic Disease Section, Department of Health
  • Jess Styles - Director, Programs - NACCHO
  • Professor Catherine McMahon - Head of Department of Linguistics, Director - HEAR Centre, Macquarie University