Adults with a hearing problem should consult their family doctor who may refer them to a medical ear specialist, an audiologist in a public hospital or in private practice or if they are eligible, to an audiologist at Australian Hearing Services. If not eligible for this service and need a hearing aid, the doctor may recommend an appointment with a commercial hearing aid firm.

Australian Hearing Service

This is a Commonwealth Government Scheme covering South West Sydney. The service provides free hearing tests and hearing aids for people with a Social Security concession card. The service provides low cost maintenance and repairs of hearing aids, and supplies batteries. A referral from a doctor is necessary. For some elderly people with mobility problems, home visits can be arranged if this is specified in writing by a doctor.

An Information Pack has been developed to assist doctors to talk to their patients about hearing loss. The pack contains information to assist you identify patients who are eligible for our programs, and understand the rehabilitation process.

Australian Hearing Service
Level 1, 161 George Street Liverpool NSW 2170
PO Box 956 Liverpool BC NSW 1871
Phone: (02) 9600 6766
Fax: (02) 9600 6782
TTY: (02) 9600 6682
GP Information Pack: 13 1797
Website: www.hearing.com.au

New Hearing

Provides hearing assessments for adults and children, industrial hearing tests, doctors reports, tinnitus advice and information, hearing aid fitting and repairs.

286 Queen Street Campbelltown NSW 2560
Phone: (02) 4625 4077
Fax: (02) 4625 4080

Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children

Support for carers, parents and those who have hearing or vison disabilities. Early childhood centres throughout Sydney, outreach workers.

361-365 North Rocks Rd North Rocks 2151
Private Bag 29 Parramatta BC 2124
Phone: (02) 9871 1233
Fax: (02) 9871 2196

The Shepherd Centre

The Shepherd Centre is an early intervention, family centred program dedicated to helping children who are deaf or hearing impaired achieve spoken communication through listening. The individual auditory/verbal program teahces parents to teach their children to listen, understand and speak, principally by using their residual hearing. Optimisation of the hearing aids/ cochlear implant is crucial to the child's language development. There are five centres in NSW (Sydney, Liverpool, Chatswood, Wollongong and Bathurst) as well as a centre in Canberra. The centre offers the following services without charge to families:
- Weekly individual sessions with a teacher of the deaf or speech pathologist
- Regular home visits to assist in developing a listening language rich environment
- Weekly playgroups at each centre
- Guidance abd support to parents and families
- Support and regular visits to children attending their local pre-school
- Support, education and training for staff at mainstream schools and pre-schools
- A paediatric cochlear implant program
- A correspondence program
- An annual residential workshop for rural and overseas families

391-401 Abercrombie St, Darlington NSW 2008
PO Box 871 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
Phone: (02) 9351 7888
Fax: (02) 9351 7880
TTY: (02) 9351 7881
Email: enquiries@shepherdcentre.usyd.edu.au
Website: www.shepherdcentre.usyd.edu.au

The Annette Shepherd Centre Liverpool
43 Graham Av, Casula NSW 2170
Phone: (02) 9822 2299
Fax: (02) 9822 2288

Audiological Society of Australia (NSW Branch)

ASA specialises in the assessment, non-medical management and prevention of hearing impairment. The ASA offers continuing education and support of its members

Better Hearing Australia

Better Hearing Australia is a nationwide voluntary organisation servicing hearing impaired people. It provides classes in communication skills, listening strategies, counselling, social activities, information on medical and technical developments. The Parramatta branch have a resource centre where assistive listening devices are displayed and demonstrated. Closest branches:

29 Burwood Road Concord 2137
Phone: (02) 9744 0167
Fax: (02) 9744 7492
TTY: (02) 9744 0124

3rd Floor, Parramatta Health Service Building
Cnr George and Marsden Street Parramatta 2124
PO Box 756 Parramatta 2124
Phone:
Fax: (02) 9633 2009

Narellan Community Health Centre conducts a hearing clinic
14 Queen Street Narellan 2567
Phone: (02) 4640 3500

Deafness Resources Australia

A resource centre of deafness related products (books, video's, technology, information) throughout Australia and New Zealand

Ground Floor, 33 Argyle St, Parramatta 2150
Locked Bag 5380 Parramatta 2124
Phone: (02) 9895 2970, or 1800 555 201
TTY: (02) 9895 2971, or 1800 555 203
Fax: (02) 9895 2972
Email: dra@aceinfo.net.au
Website: www.aceinfo.net.au

Jim Patrick Audiological Centre

This centre, based at North Rocks, is a family oriented audiology clinic offering a full range of children's audiological services. It is equipped to test the hearing of children from birth to eighteen years. It operates under the clinical supervision of an ENT specialist and is staffed by experieced paediatric audiologists.

Conditions appropriate for testing include premature birth, family history of hearing loss, neonatal jaundice, exposure to ototoxic medication, glue ear and delayed speech development.

Jim Patrick Audiology Centre
Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children
361-365 North Rocks Rd
North Rocks NSW 2151
Phone: (02) 9872 0872
Fax: (02) 9872 0873
Email: audiology@ridbc.org.au

Lions Hearing Dogs

Program to provide people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment with dogs trained to alert them to sounds inside the home at no cost.

Mount Barker Rd Verdun S.A. 5245
PO Box 164 Hahndorf S.A. 5245
Phone: (08) 8388 7836
Fax: (08) 8388 1299
TTY: (08) 8388 1297
Email: hearingdogs@picknowl.com.au
Website: www.hearingdogs.asn.au

National Captioning Helpline

Australian Caption Centre
Level 4, 187 Thomas St Haymarket NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9212 5277
Fax: (02) 9281 2198
Email: acc@auscap.com.au
Website: www.auscap.com.au

Commonwealth Hearing Services Program

Do you need help?
If you have a hearing loss, a Commonwealth Government Program administered by the Office of Hearing Services may be able to help you to gain access to hearing services. Eligible people can obtain help by applying to the Office of Hearing Services for a hearing services voucher. The following services are available, free of charge, under this program:
- hearing assessment;
- hearing rehabilitation; and
- selectionand fitting of hearing aids (if necessary).
In addition, eligible people can obtain maintenance of their hearing aids and devices and a regular supply of batteries on payment of a small annual fee.

Who is eligible?
You are eligible to apply for a voucher if you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident 21 years or older and you are:
- a pension concession card holder;
- receiving a sickness allowance from Centrelink;
- the holder of a gold Repatriation Health Card issued for all conditions;
- the holder of a white repatriation Health Card issued for conditions that include hearing loss;
- a dependent of a person in one of the above categories;
- a member of the Australian Defence Force; or
- undergoing a vocational rehabilitation program with the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service (CRS) Australia and you are referred by your case manager.

How to apply
You can obtain an application form from your doctor or from a hearing services provider who is contracted to the Office of Hearing Services. Alternatively, if you ring 1800 686 126 (phone) or 1800 500 496 (for users of TTY equipment only) and give your postal address, an application form will be posted to you.

Referral
If you are applying to the program for the first time you need to ask your doctor to complete the referral on the application form. Holders of Repatriation Cards applying for the first time should ask their Local Medical Officer to complete the referral.
If you are a client of the program, you should ask your current hearing services practitioner to complete the referral on the application form. As a hearing aid wearer, new aids will only be fitted if your current hearing aids are no longer meeting your clinical needs as assessed by your hearing services provider.

Choosing your service provider
If you are eligible to take part in this program you will receive a voucher from the Office of Hearing Services. You may use this voucher to obtain services from any hearing services provider who has entered into a contract with the Office of Hearing Services. A directory listing the names and addresses of contracted service providers will be sent to you when your voucher is issued.

Free services
A hearing services voucher will entitle you to obtain, free of charge, a comprehensive range of hearing services designed to meet your needs. Your hearing will be assessed by a qualified practitioner. If the assessment indicates that a hearing aid or other device would assist you, your practitioner will help you select an appropriate model from a range of quality devices made by leading manufacturers. The practitioner will also advise you on how to get the maximum benefit from your hearing aid. If you have complex hearing problems, you will be offered additional special services to meet your needs.

"Top-Up" arrangements
Uner the Commonwealth Hearing Services program you will be able to obtain, free of charge, a quality hearing aid that will provide a satisfactory rehabilitation outcome. However, the Commonwealth Hearing Services Program also allows for "Top-Up" arrangements where you may choose to be fitted with ahearing aid with additional features beyond those necessary to achieve a satisfactory rehabilitation outcome. Under the "Top-Up" arrangements you pay the difference in cost to your service provider.
You can expect a Government contribution towards the cost of your "Top-Up" hearing aid. All hearing aids including "Top-Up" aids are GST free. Hearing devices that are not hearing aids will incur a GST charge. Entering into a "topUp" arrangement is a matter of personal choice. You are not obliged to enter into such an arrangement.
The brochure Talking About "Top-Up" has more information about "Top-Up" arrangements. if you would like a copy of this brochure, ring the Health Information Hotline on 1800 686 126 and ask for it to be sent to you.

Maintenance and batteries
If you are fitted with ahearing aid, it is recommended that you enter into a maintenance agreement with your service provider. For an annual fee your service provider will maintain your aid and supply batteries. If you choose not to pay the annual maintenance fee, you will need to buy batteries regularly and pay for servicing and repair of your hearing aid.
If you are fitted with a hearing aid that is free under the voucher system, from 1 July 2000 the total payment for maintenance and supply of batteries is $31.50. This comprises the annual fee of $30 and GST of $1.50 which is levied on the maintenance component of the fee.
The annual maintenance charge for a "Top-Up" device may be higher and should be negotiated between you and your hearing services practitioner. Further information about maintenance charges for "Top-Up" devices is contained in the Talking About "Top-Up" brochure.

Consumer support groups
For information about consumer support groups throughout Australia contact the Deafness Forum Australia on (02) 6262 7808 (phone) or (02) 6262 7809 (for users of TTY equipment only).

For more information
Contact the Office of Hearing Services on the following number:
Hearing Services Information:

If you use a telephone typewriter (TTY) telephone 1800 500 496.
Correspondence should be addressed to:
Office of Hearing Service
Department of Health and Ageing
Mail Drop Point 113
GPO Box 9848 Canberra ACT 2601

Email: hearing@health.gov.au
Information on the Commonwealth Hearing Services Program is available in a number of community languages on the Office of Hearing Services website site: www.health.gov.au/hear.