The Hearing House van - providing flexible, accessible services directly to our communities

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 Hine, Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Manu) from Te Wheke Moko Design Studio. 

The specially adapted vehicle significantly expands our ability to serve communities, offering hearing assessments, screenings, and consultations with audiologists and speech-language therapists. Our goal is to increase awareness about the importance of hearing health and the life-changing benefits of cochlear implants. 

Over the past year (to 30 June 2025), we have seen 150 kiritaki/clients in the van in 19 different locations (including Rotorua, Taupō, Putaruru, Tauranga and Whangarei) with a total of 307 appointments scheduled in the mobile clinic.  

In addition, we achieved a 34% increase in offsite visits this year, with a total of 1,704. This rise reflects our dedication to engaging with the community and highlights the importance of our outreach efforts in meeting client needs. 

Historically, our ability to reach certain communities was limited by a lack of available outpatient space in hospitals and health clinics. The introduction of the mobile clinic removes this barrier, allowing us to provide flexible, accessible services directly to the communities that need them most. 

The van travels across a wide range of locations from Cape Reinga to Taupō, including schools, Ko Taku Reo units, sports grounds, hospitals, health clinics and community centres as part of our education and outreach efforts.  

Earlier this year, members of our team spent a couple of days volunteering at Papakura Marae, supporting community hearing screenings alongside Te Whatu Ora and Kia Roha services. It was a great opportunity to connect with whānau and help make hearing health more accessible.  

Special thanks to our supporters and funders, including the Punchestown Trust, the Hugo Charitable Trust, the Lindsay Foundation, Trillian Trust, ANZ New Zealand Staff Foundation, NR and JH Thompson Charitable Trust, Quota Papakura, Rotorua Trust, Maurice Paykel Charitable Trust, Trust Waikato and Hearing House client Grace McKean.  

“We have an 8-year-old client in Tauranga who’s a wheelchair user and has been in and out of hospital a lot. We would try and see him in the hospital clinic which proved to be so traumatic for him, that we shifted his screenings to school which wasn’t ideal as we didn’t have access to all our testing equipment.  

“Last year, for the first time in more than five years, he completed a hearing test in the mobile hearing clinic when we visited him at his school in Tauranga.  

“He loved being in the van with big smiles. His mother was also extremely happy as the dental van that visits the school doesn’t have a wheelchair lift so he isn’t able to use it - she was so grateful that our van has a wheelchair lift and is inclusive.  He was seen at his school so that his teachers could also attend to help support the appointment, making him feel more comfortable and adding to the success.” 

The blessing of the van by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, August 2024