Women locking themselves in steel containers to avoid domestic violence, children sleeping on the floors of homes strewn with dogs' faecal matter, the only street light in town the community social centre, and no way of ensuring children are safe from sexual predators in homes where up to 30 people live.

This was a version of Indigenous life in the Northern Territory given to the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory as bureaucrats and health specialists gave evidence on Thursday about government attempts over the last decade to address the problems of child protection.

Dr Damien Howard, consulting psychologist, leaving the Royal Commission. Credit:Glenn Campbell

Psychologist Damien Howard told commissioners overcrowding coupled with the rise of iPhones and other devices had created a second epidemic of people with hearing loss that was now contributing to the breakdown of law and order.

He said 94 per cent of Indigenous prisoners in NT jails suffered impaired hearing, compared with 45 per cent of the wider Indigenous population.