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New ear health study music to the ears of Aboriginal children

Wait times for Aboriginal children suffering ear infections could be reduced to less than four weeks thanks to a new The Kids Research Institute Australia research project

Four BrightSpark Fellowships awarded to early-career researchers at The Kids

Congratulations to four outstanding early-career researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia, who have been awarded BrightSpark Foundation fellowships and project funding for 2026.

New funding to support innovative research projects

Two The Kids Research Institute Australia research teams have been awarded more than $3.5 million to fund innovative projects.

Australian-first study set to unveil major impact of ear disease on Aboriginal children

Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded a $1.1 million NHMRC ‘Targeted Call for Hearing Health’ grant to conduct the first ever study following Aboriginal babies from birth through to five years to uncover the true prevalence of middle ear infections and hearing loss.

Clinician-rated quality of video otoscopy recordings and still images for the asynchronous assessment of middle-ear disease

Video otoscopy plays an important role in improving access to ear health services. This study investigated the clinician-rated quality of video otoscopy recordings and still images, and compared their suitability for asynchronous diagnosis of middle-ear disease. Two hundred and eighty video otoscopy image-recording pairs were collected from 150 children (aged six months to 15 years) by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, audiologists, and trained research assistants, and independently rated by an audiologist and ENT surgeon.

Topical versus systemic antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis media

Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), sometimes referred to as chronic otitis media (COM), is a chronic inflammation and often polymicrobial infection (involving more than one micro-organism) of the middle ear and mastoid cavity, characterised by ear discharge (otorrhoea) through a perforated tympanic membrane. The predominant symptoms of CSOM are ear discharge and hearing loss. Antibiotics are the most common treatment for CSOM, which act to kill or inhibit the growth of micro-organisms that may be responsible for the infection.

Homes crucial for healthy ears

The Kids researchers discovered that overcrowding is the strongest predictor of carriage of bacteria that cause otitis media

Aural toilet (ear cleaning) for chronic suppurative otitis media

Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), sometimes referred to as chronic otitis media (COM), is a chronic inflammation and often polymicrobial infection (involving more than one micro-organism) of the middle ear and mastoid cavity, characterised by ear discharge (otorrhoea) through a perforated tympanic membrane.

The Kids researchers named as finalists in 2020 Premier’s Science Awards

Two The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have been named as finalists in the 2020 Western Australian Premier’s Science Awards.

Predominance of nontypeable haemophilus influenzae in children with otitis media

In Australia the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) is administered at 2, 4 and 6 months of age, with no booster dose.