LIVED EXPERIENCE UNDERSCORES CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF EAR HEALTH

Ballardong (Noongar) and Badimaya (Yamatji) sisters Kassy & Chontae Hayden.

Kassy and Chontae Hayden grew up surrounded by family and the bush on a farm just shy of a town called Westonia until their family moved to Perth. They are two proud Ballardong (Noongar) and Badimaya (Yamatji) sisters whose family comes from the small country towns of Kellerberrin and Merredin.

The Hayden sisters know how important ear health is to Aboriginal families. Growing up, the sisters both experienced lots of issues with their ears, but they were fortunate enough to have access to services. Kassy had 7 sets of grommets before she turned 11 and also had a myringoplasty and skin graft, which she remembers had a big impact on her childhood. Chontae was a bit more fortunate and only had 4-5 sets of grommets and a myringoplasty.

Both sisters have no ongoing permanent ear problems or hearing loss, although they remember this time as being very isolating as children.

“I was always the kid who had to sit out of swimming lessons because my ears hurt, and all the other kids would laugh because they didn’t understand – it was super embarrassing. Summers were the worst because we would have to wear earplugs and headbands every time we went for a swim, so we struggled even harder to hear our friends while playing. When I was around 11, I begged my parents to have the last set of my grommets surgically removed, because I didn’t want to go into high school not being able to enjoy the swimming carnivals.” - Kassy Hayden

Kassy graduated from Emmanuel Catholic College in 2015 having no idea as to what she wanted to do with the next chapter of her life as she felt university was not it for her. Her career journey began at a small family-owned business within the mining industry as the Commercial Administrator. It was this role that manifested her love of people management, client relationships, policies, procedures, coordination and much more. Because of this, she went on to do her Certificate 3 in Business Administration to further her understanding of the organisation as part of a traineeship that her employer arranged.

In 2020, Kassy decided that she wanted a change in her career and was offered a position with Earbus Foundation of Western Australia as Office & Logistics Coordinator. After hearing about Earbus from her younger sister Chontae, it was something that resonated with Kassy and she wanted to be able to contribute to the goals and focus of the Foundation. She was also thrilled to be working alongside her sister, who had started with Earbus shortly after leaving high school herself.

Kassy stepped into her current role of Outreach Coordinator in 2022. She coordinates around 50 trips a year across the Pilbara (East, South & Central) and Goldfields regions, Esperance-Newman and, most recently, Carnarvon. Coordinating the regions includes a large range of tasks such as organising flights and accommodation for clinical teams, liaising with more than 40 schools, overseeing itineraries and logistics for the teams on the ground and engaging with local community stakeholders. Kassy is also a member of the Earbus Leadership Team.

Chontae graduated from St Clare's School in 2018, wanting to study Primary School Education as she had a strong passion for teaching. But when an opportunity arose to work at Earbus Foundation in early 2019 Chontae joined the team, starting off as an Outreach Admin Officer working in the Goldfields and Pilbara East regions. In 2020, she was trained to be an Ear Health Screener for the then new Earbus Metro Program. Chontae continued in both roles until 2021 when she commenced a new role as Alcoa Earbus Program Coordinator, which led to her current role as Metro, Southwest & Alcoa Earbus Program Coordinator.

Chontae liaises with schools in Bunbury, Australind, Dalyellup and Treendale as well as almost 40 sites in the Perth Metro and Alcoa Earbus Program regions. Chontae coordinates and organises Earbus visits throughout each school term to schools, daycares, playgroups, early learning centres and kindergartens.

“I was always putting cotton wool in my ear to stop the discharge from leaking onto my face during school. I remember hating the fact that I was visually different from all my peers and all the kids used to stare, you never really get used to it.” - Chontae Hayden.

The work Earbus does deeply resonates with both sisters, and they find their roles extremely rewarding. As Coordinators, they get to hear stories from the field from their teams and see all the visit data, which identifies regional trends and shapes service delivery. Working at the Foundation allows Kassy and Chontae to put their skills to good use and contribute to an organisation making a real difference in hearing health for Aboriginal and at-risk children.

Since commencing services 10 years ago, Earbus Foundation of WA has recorded significant, measurable improvements in the ear health of Aboriginal children all across WA. Earbus has created a broader awareness of ear health by liaising directly with families and schools, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Kassy and Chontae.

Original article appeared in Deafness Forum Australia's 'One in Six' publication on 6 March 2024.