Hearing loss common for NT kids

More than 50 per cent of Indigenous children with high needs in the Northern Territory have hearing loss, a report has found.

The report, released on Thursday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), found hearing loss in 55 per cent of 1764 children who received services in 2013/14.

Middle ear infections were also common among the children and young people who received services, the report found.

"Of those who received an audiology or ear, nose and throat (ENT) service in 2013/14, 67 per cent were diagnosed with at least one type of middle ear condition, an increase from 61 per cent in 2012/13," it found.

The report is a snapshot of the federal government's ear and hearing outreach services in the Northern Territory from July 2012 to June 2014.

The services are targeted at "high needs" children, and the results are not representative of the total Northern Territory Indigenous population under 21, the AIHW says.

On a positive note, the survey found hearing health improved for many children who received two or more consultations with doctors.

"Twenty-six per cent regained normal hearing in both ears at their last check, and 15 per cent had their hearing loss improve so that only one ear was affected, not both," AIHW spokesperson, Fadwa Al-Yaman, said.