Latest news with #TheFutureLooksBright
The Guardian
14-02-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Episode 4: A holistic approach to healthy ageing: eyes, ears, nutrition and lifestyle
Nick Gidas, head of clinical performance, Specsavers. Kathryn Launchbury, senior professional services manager, audiology, Specsavers. Taryn Black, chief strategy officer, Diabetes Australia. Dr Kathy Chapman, CEO, Macular Disease Foundation Australia. In the final episode of The Future Looks Bright we look at the importance of a holistic approach to health as we navigate the ageing process. We meet Dug, a 44-year-old from Sydney who is confronting natural changes to his eyesight and hearing. A lifelong musician, Dug has been playing in bands since he was 14, but has recently noticed that in noisy pubs and restaurants he struggles to hear friends talking. And he's not alone. According to the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, about 3.6 million Australians have some level of hearing loss. Kathryn Launchbury, a senior professional services manager, audiology, at Specsavers, says that once people reach their 40s and 50s, they are more susceptible to hearing loss. However, exposure to loud noises 'can also start damaging your hearing from a much earlier age than a lot of people expect'. From listening to music at high volumes to the environmental noise experienced by hairdressers, gardeners and builders, repeated and prolonged noise exposure is something we should be protecting ourselves against. In addition to eye care services, Specsavers offer free 15-minute hearing checks and comprehensive diagnostic assessments with audiology professionals. As a result of his advancing age, Dug has also experienced some deterioration in his eyesight. He wears glasses when he's working on his computer and reading, and they're something he can't do without. Nick Gidas, an optometrist and the head of clinical performance at Specsavers, says that changing vision is a natural part of ageing. 'We're born with a natural lens inside our eye that's like an autofocus in a camera,' Gidas says. '[When we get] into our 40s and 50s, usually over a 10- to 20-year period, that lens loses flexibility and it impacts how close we can bring things to see.' As we get older, we also naturally become susceptible to other eye conditions, such age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. Dr Kathy Chapman is the CEO of Macular Disease Foundation Australia. She says that while AMD isn't painful, as it progresses it's like having a 'rock obscuring your view'. Understandably, this loss of central vision has a big impact on people's lives. In 2024 the foundation looked into how diet can help keep our eyes healthy. It can also be a factor in preventing type 2 diabetes. Taryn Black, the chief strategy officer at Diabetes Australia, says about 60% of all cases of type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented through diet and lifestyle. About 1.5 million Australians are living with diagnosed diabetes, Diabetes Australia says. And up to 500,000 people have type 2 diabetes but don't know it. The complications of diabetes are numerous, but changes in eyesight are often the first noticeable sign. 'We're always getting older, and people put [vision changes] down to a sign of old age,' Black says. 'But with half a million people living with undiagnosed diabetes, it's often the optometrist who's doing the eye check [who detects it first].' Just as we see a GP for regular health checkups, it's also important to see an optometrist to get regular eye health checks. While simply getting older is a risk factor for many health conditions, there are practical steps we can all take to navigate the challenges of ageing with resilience and optimism. Listen to the full series of The Future Looks Bright now [hyperlink]. The Future Looks Bright is produced by Guardian Labs Australia. Narrator: Fenella Kernebone. Series producer and editor: Cinnamon Nippard. Guardian Labs producer: Ciara Bowe. Lead commercial editor: Nicola Harvey. The Future Looks Bright is paid for by Specsavers. Find your local Specsavers store for optometry services Find your local Specsavers store for audiology services Find out more about Macular Disease Foundation Australia Diabetes Australia, support for people living with diabetes
The Guardian
14-02-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Episode 3: Bridging the gap in eye care
Tanya Morris, acting country director, Indigenous Australia Program, The Fred Hollows Foundation Jeena Tan, head of clinical systems, Specsavers Jolene Cheah, optometrist, Specsavers Cliff Axelsen, farmer, Armidale Auson Wu, optometry partner, Specsavers Fairfield In this episode of The Future Looks Bright, we take a look at the challenges of delivering essential eye care services to some of the communities that need it most: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, multicultural communities and people living in regional and rural areas. According to the 2016 census, about 2.3 million people, or almost 10% of Australia's population, live in small towns. Specsavers is the largest provider of optometry in Australia, with almost 400 practices nationwide, but in 2023 about 40% of locations in the Specsavers network had an unfilled optometry vacancy, with more than 60% of those in outer regional locations. Specsavers' head of clinical systems, Jeena Tan, says: 'There are less optometrists and less eye care professionals living in those regional communities to be able to provide that sort of timely and regular eye care service for people who need it.' Outside Armidale, in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, we meet farmer Cliff Axelsen. He is just one of thousands of Australians who have struggled to access timely, preventative eye care in their regional communities because of a shortage of optometrists. 'You've got to travel to a major centre for you to have an eye test or anything,' he says. But an optometry practice in his local town has begun offering an innovative approach to eye care services. At Specsavers, a local clinical technician assists a Melbourne-based optometrist in providing remote eye care, a telehealth eye exam, for Armidale residents. So far more than 400 Australians have had remote eye care appointments as part of Specsavers' ongoing pilot to help make eye care more accessible across the nation. Delivering comprehensive and culturally appropriate eye care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who desperately need it is a priority for The Fred Hollows Foundation and its eye care partner, Specsavers. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are three times more likely to go blind than other Australians because the health system is not meeting their needs. Specsavers supports the foundation's important work through equipment donations and financial contributions. And a skilled volunteering program gives Specsavers optometrists the opportunity to give back to remote and under-serviced communities by providing them with eye care services. Tanya Morris, the acting country director of the Indigenous Australia Program with The Fred Hollows Foundation, and a proud Bar-Barrum woman from the Atherton Tablelands, says the needs of First Nations people are complex, with many diagnosed with conditions such as cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and trachoma. Providing culturally appropriate healthcare in which patients are supported by Indigenous healthcare professionals and liaison officers makes a huge difference, Morris says. 'The way we get things done our way is word of mouth,' she says. 'So if an elder or somebody says, 'Hey, that wasn't too bad, it's not that bad', [people are] more than likely to go.' From regional NSW, we head to Fairfield, a suburb in western Sydney. It's one of the most culturally diverse communities in Australia, home to migrants and refugees who collectively speak more than 80 languages. Auson Wu is a Fairfield local who grew up here and is an optometry partner at Specsavers Fairfield. He's concerned about the rising rates of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataracts in his community. Just like Morris, Wu says building trust with his community, providing culturally safe and appropriate care, and educating people about eye health, are essential for creating change and meeting long-term eye care goals. Equity in eye care requires creative community solutions and technological advances to address the 90% of vision loss experienced by Australians that can be prevented or treated. Through the dedication and innovative approaches of healthcare professionals and organisations such as The Fred Hollows Foundation and Specsavers, a more equitable future for eye care in Australia is on the horizon. The Future Looks Bright is produced by Guardian Labs Australia. Narrator: Fenella Kernebone Series producer and editor: Cinnamon Nippard Guardian Labs producer: Ciara Bowe Lead Commercial Editor: Nicola Harvey The Future Looks Bright is paid for by Specsavers. Find your local Specsavers store for optometry & audiology services Help support The Fred Hollows Foundation Find out more about The Fred Hollows Foundation and Specsavers partnership Find out more about Deadly Enterprises, Australia's first Aboriginal-owned optical provider
