Ears - care for kids ears - Department of Health and Ageing

Flipchart for Teachers & Teachers’ Aides
“Hi kids. It’s nice to meet you.
We are Ernie & Kathy.”

Care for kids’ ears
Strong hearing, strong start.
Featuring the characters Kathy & Ernie, this flipchart has been created to help educate
young children (up to Year Two), about the importance of ear health.
Designed and produced by the Australian Government as part of a national campaign to
increase awareness of ear disease and hearing loss in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities, this fun, easy-to-read flipchart shows kids what to do if their ears are sore. As
an infected ear may also present with no symptoms, the key message ‘get your ears checked
regularly’ is also reinforced.
On the back of each illustration you’ll find some suggested topics for you to discuss with your
students. Additional activities are also included for your use.
We hope you enjoy using this flipchart and encourage you to visit the Care For Kids’ Ears
website to find out more.
www.careforkidsears.health.gov.au
A range of additional resources is available within the Care for Kids’ Ears kit to assist in child
ear health education, including:
1. Information booklet (with an overview of the campaign, key messages and ear
health summary).
2. My Ears storybook (to introduce key characters Kathy and Ernie and the ear health
message).
3. Memory cards (a fun interactive activity for students).
4. Poster (to help promote the ear health message).
5. Teachers’ fact sheet (to assist teachers of children with hearing loss).
6. Colouring in sheets and dot to dot sheets (to support key messages).
7. I Love My Ears stickers (to reward and recognise children).
Care for Kids’ Ears resources are based on the Recommendations for Clinical Care Guidelines on the Management
of Otitis Media in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations (updated 2010), prepared by the Darwin Otitis
Guidelines Group in collaboration with the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH) Otitis Media
Technical Advisory Group, for OATSIH, Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra, ACT.
ISBN: 978-1-74241-607-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-74241-608-3
Publications Approval Number: D0743
© Commonwealth of Australia 2012
This work is copyright. You may reproduce the whole or part of this work in unaltered form for your own personal use
or, if you are part of an organisation, for internal use within your organisation, but only if you or your organisation do not
use the reproduction for any commercial purpose and retain this copyright notice and all disclaimer notices as part of
that reproduction. Apart from rights to use as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 or allowed by this copyright notice, all
other rights are reserved and you are not allowed to reproduce the whole or any part of this work in any way (electronic
or otherwise) without first being given the specific written permission from the Commonwealth to do so. Requests and
inquiries concerning reproduction and rights are to be sent to the Online, Services and External Relations Branch,
Department of Health and Ageing, GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, or via e-mail to copyright@health.gov.au.

What’s wrong with Kathy?

Introduce the idea of a ‘sick’
ear, sore ear or ear infection.
Activity question: What do you think is
wrong with Kathy?
Next page: What are the signs of a
sick ear?

signs of a cold
(coughing, sore throat, runny nose)
it hurts
runny fluid or pus
not eating
kids pulling ears
fever
what?
can’t hear properly
diarrhoea or vomiting

Explain the sick ear symptoms:
Kathy has a sick ear, which means:
• Her ear might be sore.
• It might be runny and might have pus.
• She might feel yucky and might have a fever.
• She might not be able to hear properly.
• She might not feel like eating.
• She might have diarrhoea or vomiting.
Next page: What’s wrong with Ernie?

What’s wrong with Ernie?

Introduce the idea of a ‘sick’
ear without any pain or
symptoms.
Activity question: Did you know you
can have a sick ear without any pain?
Next page: What should Kathy and
Ernie do to help their sick ears?

Visit the health worker,
nurse or doctor.
health
worker

What should Kathy and Ernie
do to help their sick ears?
• By seeing a health worker, nurse or doctor, their
sick ears can be treated.
• A health worker, nurse or doctor might give
them medicine to make them feel better.
• If their sick ears aren’t treated, they may not
hear well or could lose some of their hearing.
Activity question: What does it mean
if you can’t hear well?
Next page: What happens when you
get your ears checked?

The doctor, nurse or health
worker will look in your ears.

What happens when you get
your ears checked?
The doctor, nurse or health worker will look in
your ears.
• An ear check does not hurt.
Activity question: Has anyone had
their ears checked?
Next page: A sick ear can mean you
have an ear infection. What is an ear
infection?

When your nose has a cold,
so do your ears.
ear tube
an ear
infection means your
ear has a cold

Ear tube.
• Your ears are connected to your nose by a tube.
• When you get a cold or flu in your nose, the
tube gets blocked and your ears can get sick.
Next page: What should Kathy & Ernie
do if their ears are sick?

Tell your parents, carer
or teacher.

Tell your parents, carer or
teacher.
You should tell an adult looking after you if your
ears are sore.
Activity question: Who would you tell
if your ears were sore?
Next page: What should Kathy & Ernie
do to make sure their ears are healthy?

health
worker
Get their ears checked.

You should get your ears checked
regularly by a health worker, nurse or
doctor.
Class activity: Going for an ear check
Select three children to play the role of:
• child;
• mum; and
• health worker, nurse or doctor.
Ask the children to role play a situation where the
child has a sore ear and is taken to the health
worker, nurse or doctor by the parent for a check up.
Next page: What else should Kathy &
Ernie do to keep their ears healthy?

Wash every day.

Wash and keep clean.
• Washing your hands before eating is important.
• You should wash your face and body
every day.
• Washing your hands after going to the toilet is
important too.
• Blow your nose into a tissue and throw the
tissue in the bin.
Activity question: Why should we
wash our hands before eating?
Next page: What else should Kathy &
Ernie do to keep their ears healthy?

Eat healthy foods.

Eat healthy foods.
Eating healthy food like fruit and vegetables is
important for our ears, our tummies and our
whole body.
Healthy food helps our body to fight infection.
If your body can fight infection, your ears won’t
get sick.
Activity question: What is your
favourite fruit or vegetable?
Next page: Why is it important to
have healthy ears?

We can talk and
play together.

Healthy ears are important.
It means you can hear your friends when they
talk to you.
Next page: Why else is it important to
have healthy ears?

We can listen to music.

Healthy ears are important.
You can listen to music!
Activity questions:
What is your favourite song or rhyme?
Who is your favourite band?
Next page: Why else is it important to
have healthy ears?

We can learn our language
and stories.

Healthy ears are important.
You can hear your family when they tell stories
and you can learn languages.
Next page: Why else is it important to
have healthy ears?

We can play sport.

Healthy ears are important.
You can play sport with your friends.
Next page: Why else is it important to
have healthy ears?

pinna
ear canal
middle ear
ear drum
middle ear
So you can hear me,
your teacher!

Healthy ears are important
because:
• You can hear me when I teach you new things.
• You can hear me call your name.
Next page: Can sick ears be treated?

YES!
Sick ears can be treated.

Ear infections.
• If found early enough, ear infections or sick ears
can be treated.
• Remember, if you have runny ears, pain or
fever, tell your teacher or your mum or dad.
• The health worker, nurse or doctor might give
you medicine to treat your sore ears.
• If you are given medicine, it is important to take
the full amount advised by your health worker.
Next page: Can your ear be infected
even if it’s not sore?

jan
apr
jul
oct
feb
may
aug
nov
mar
june
sep
calendar
YES!
So remember to get
your ears checked regularly.
dec

Ernie didn’t have a sore ear
but his ears were sick.
Sometimes you can have an ear infection, even
though your ear isn’t sore.
So you should get your ears checked regularly by
a health worker, nurse or doctor just to make sure
they are okay.

We love our ears.

Final discussion.
• What was wrong with Kathy?
• What did she do to fix it?
• What was wrong with Ernie?
• Can you have sick ears with no pain?
• Why is it important to have healthy
ears?
• What can you do to prevent a
sick ear?
For more details, please visit
www.careforkidsears.health.gov.au
All information in this publication is correct as of March 2012
D0743 March 2012