Dr Lara Shur is making it possible for hearing-impaired Aboriginal and at-risk children in Western Australia to hear.
Ear infections are more prevalent among Aboriginal children than non-Indigenous children. If left untreated, they can cause hearing loss and serious, life-long limits on learning and development.
Lara co-founded Earbus Foundation around her kitchen table in 2013, where she and her co-founders worked for 12 months before they were able to pay themselves a salary. Lara became CEO in 2023 and has mapped hearing services across Western Australia, focusing on Indigenous communities.
Under Lara’s leadership, a fleet of mobile ear clinics travel to schools, daycare centres and kindergartens at 200 locations in regional and remote communities. Up to 5,200 Aboriginal and at-risk children are treated for free each year. Lara has also facilitated ear, nose and throat surgery clinics to treat children seen in Earbus programs across the state.