The impacts of hearing loss on children under school age
A hidden issue of vital importance
Tuesday 25 November 2014, 9.30am–12.30pm
Community Migrant Resource Centre
Level 4, 1 Horwood Place, Parramatta
Hearing loss is often undetected in very young children, but its effects can be profound. They can include:
- Delayed, even permanently limited speech
- Loss of critical brain function
- Frustration and socialisation difficulties.
Come and hear Professor David Ryugo of the Garvan Institute, and Catherine McMahon, head of Audiology at Macquarie University, explain how deafness and hearing loss can alter brain organisation, and the importance of early recognition and intervention.
Learn to recognise the signs of hearing loss, and how to advise families about the best people for them to approach with concerns.
The venue is five minutes walk from Parramatta Station, and there is parking close by in the Horwood Place Parking Centre.
This is a not-to-be missed event, so mark the date now. Registration details coming soon.
Speaker Details
Professor David Ryugo grew up in a small college town in California that centered around agriculture. He enjoyed sports, woodworking, hiking and camping, and was drawn to mathematics and science because of his interest in problem solving. David prizes education, loves his work, and considers preservation of the environment mankind’s greatest challenge.
Professor Ryugo uses neurophysiology and neuroanatomy in his studies of the auditory system. He spent 9 years on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and 23 years at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before retiring as professor emeritus. In 2010, he moved to Sydney to join the Garvan Institute and the University of New South Wales. His research focuses on understanding brain mechanisms that underlie hearing in mammals with an emphasis on structure-function relationships in auditory circuits of the brain. He is especially interested in how deafness and hearing loss alter brain organization, and in exploring strategies for hearing restoration. Professor Ryugo is also a Principal Honorary Fellow at the Bionic Institute in Melbourne and an honorary member of the Ear Nose & Throat Department at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
When not working in the lab or worrying about funding, David enjoys reading, rock climbing, traveling with his wife, Karen, and his new hobby of sailing.
Catherine McMahon is head of Audiology at Macquarie University.
Barbie Bates is Executive Director of Paint the Town REaD. She will outline a proposal for a simple, universal otitis media prevention program that can be incorporated into child and family community work.
Download a print version of this Hearing Loss Seminar Advance Notice here.