National Conference

CEO Paul Higginbotham presenting at BHA National Conference in Fremantle

Earbus Foundation CEO Paul Higginbotham presented at the Better Hearing Australia national conference held in Fremantle to coincide with BHA WA’s 70th anniversary. Brilliantly organised by Julie Edmonds the conference was well attended by delegates from all over the country and was widely acknowledged to be one of the best yet. 

Mr Higginbotham’s presentation provided a snapshot of conductive deafness in Aboriginal communities in rural and regional Western Australia. Based largely on the work of the Earbus Foundation in the Goldfields and Pilbara regions it sketched out how the disease can impact on every aspect of a child’s early development. On average Aboriginal children suffer from middle-ear disease for 32 of the first 60 months of life, whereas non-Aboriginal children suffer on average for only 3 months with the disease.