Ray, Jenny, and Janet’s grandmother, Avis, was born deaf in the early 1900s. Without access to hearing aids at the time, she developed strong lip-reading skills to communicate with those around her. Avis had five children, all of whom were also deaf. Growing up in both Deaf and Hearing spaces, they remember feeling included and accepted, with no sense of being treated differently. The only extra effort was encouraging people to face them when speaking so they could read lips

At just 11 months old, Lucia has already been on an extraordinary journey. She lives in Birkenhead, Auckland, with her mum Chelsea, dad Michael, and big sister Daisy, who is four years old. The rest of the family are hearing, but Lucia was born profoundly deaf. Lucia’s hearing difference was first identified through the newborn hearing screening programme when she was just two days old. Both ears did not meet the typical hearing threshold, and she was referred to an audiologi

Last week, we were privileged to welcome Sarah Corson from the Painga Project and her colleague Bec Kaukau for our Tuesday lunchtime learning session. Bec brought valuable insights from her work alongside communities and schools, highlighting the importance of building strong, trusting relationships to create lasting change. Sarah shared the kaupapa behind the Painga Project and spoke about its long-standing relationship with The Hearing House — a connection built on shared v

Cheeky Coromandel twins Ashe and Jett Cooper are The Hearing House’s ambassadors for Loud Shirt Day 2025.  This year, Loud Shirt Day is being staged as a trans-Tasman campaign, with The Hearing House joining other First Voice member organisations, including The Shepherd Centre, NextSense, TSH, Hear and Say, and Can:Do 4Kids for the fundraising campaign to be celebrated in New Zealand and Australia on Friday, 17 October .  Identical six-year-old twins Ashe and Jett, who live i

Quota Papakura’s support of The Hearing House over the past quarter of a century has helped create career-defining opportunities for some members of our audiological team.  The club is part of  Quota New Zealand  which is a non-profit service organisation empowering women and children, the deaf and hard of hearing, and people with speech difficulties in local communities.   The connection was first started in 2000 by The Hearing House’s late patron, Phil Ryall, and his family

Earlier this week, we were privileged to welcome Nardene from Hato Hone St John to The Hearing House to lead our team through a day of first aid training.  The hands-on session covered a wide range of essential skills, from CPR and managing choking incidents to treating wounds and responding in emergency situations. The training was tailored for real-life scenarios involving babies, children, and adults, reflecting the diversity of our clients and community.  For our team, fi

Last year, we proudly realised the vision of our founders, Sir Pat Moore and Phil Ryall, with the launch of our first mobile hearing clinic.  A year ago, the Hearing House van was officially blessed at a special ceremony led by Tom Irvine and Robbie Paora of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, with a gathering of friends and supporters of The Hearing House.   The exterior of the van features a stunning tā moko design by renowned Māori artist Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hi

We were delighted to welcome Jon Tai-Rakena — NZSL tutor, advocate, and former face of NZSL Week — to The Hearing House recently. After his visit, Jon sent us a beautiful, heartfelt message that truly touched us: “I’m so grateful for the warm invitation, the way you welcomed me, and the beautiful way you explained what your professional service team does. The tour and the time you took to awhi me through the space made me feel incredibly respected and at home. I genuinely fel

We were thrilled to welcome Sarah Corson and Saffron  Laurence-Bade from Painga Project to The Hearing House recently —this photo of us in front of our respective mobile clinics  is a symbol of just how far this partnership has come!      We’ve been on this journey together since the very beginning, dreaming of a way to bring services directly to low-decile schools in South Auckland. We both envisioned mobile clinics reaching kiritaki (clients) where they are, in a way that w