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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.

Biofilms and intracellular infection in otitis media

Otitis media (OM), middle ear infection, represents a significant burden on children, their families, and the healthcare system. OM is the major cause of hearing loss in children and if left untreated in children who suffer chronic and recurrent forms of OM, this disease can have serious life-long sequelae.

Evidence of maternal transfer of antigen-specific antibodies in serum and breast milk to infants at high-risk of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae disease

Children in low-mid income countries, and First Nations children in high-income countries, experience disproportionately high rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae infections and diseases including pneumonia and otitis media.

Supporting the Social-Emotional Well-Being of Elementary School Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: A Pilot Study

Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, their parents, Teachers of the Deaf, and other community stakeholders were involved in co-designing a web-based resource to support students' social-emotional well-being.

The use of patient-report measures and intervention strategies for children and adolescents with chronic tinnitus: a scoping review

Chronic tinnitus during childhood/adolescence can be associated with impaired quality of life. Guidelines for managing paediatric tinnitus recommend assessment and interventions are often based upon the experiences and opinions of guideline committee members.

Safety, tolerability, and effect of a single aural dose of Dornase alfa at the time of ventilation tube surgery for otitis media: A Phase 1b double randomized control trial

One third of children require repeat ventilation tube insertion (VTI) for otitis media. Disease recurrence is associated with persistent middle ear bacterial biofilms. With demonstration that Dornase alfa (a DNase) disrupts middle ear effusion biofilms ex vivo, we identified potential for this as an anti-biofilm therapy to prevent repeat VTI. First, safety and tolerability needed to be measured.

Recurrent otitis media and behaviour problems in middle childhood: A longitudinal cohort study

To investigate the long-term effects of early-life recurrent otitis media (OM) and subsequent behavioural problems in children at the age of 10 years.