Ear and hearing outcomes in Aboriginal infants living in an urban Australian area: the birth cohort study.

Objective: Describe the ear and hearing outcomes in Aboriginal infants in an Australian urban area.

Design: Aboriginal infants enrolled in the 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.

Early onset of otitis media is a strong predictor of subsequent disease in urban Aboriginal infants: Djaalinj Waakinj cohort study.

Aim: Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children in rural/remote areas suffer high rates of persistent otitis media (OM) from early infancy. We aimed to determine the proportion of Aboriginal infants living in an urban area who have OM and investigate associated risk factors.

Methods: Between 2017 and 2020, the Djaalinj Waakinj cohort study enrolled 125 Aboriginal infants at 0-12 weeks of age in the Perth South Metropolitan region, Western Australia.