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Welcome to our Spring 2025 issue of Sound Matters
Message from our CEO
Kia ora koutou
Spring is here at last! It’s my favourite season of the year as we emerge from under the blanket of winter and at The Hearing House, we’ve celebrated its arrival with milestones, meaningful connections, shared experiences, and the continued growth of an even stronger and more impactful community.
Inspirational PhD student Zoe Hector joined us to host a fun and engaging workshop for young people who use cochlear implants or hearing aids to access sound. Zoe is the creator of Talk Town, a digital communication skills game designed for deaf children, and she was an immediate hit with our young people, empowering them as game design researchers and making the experience relatable and realistic.
We continued with our hugely successful Connect and Share sessions, where kiritaki of all ages come together to meet up, share experiences and support each other. This is one of the most powerful demonstrations of our connected and inclusive care model, which integrates essential services such as specialist audiology, speech-language therapy and rehabilitation, along with wraparound support and vital personal connections.
I continue to be so inspired by the strength and resilience of our kiritaki, from Hazel Wood, who’s discovering a whole new world in her 80’s, to Coromandel twins Ashe and Jett Cooper who love their Pokemon and Hot Wheels, to Paralympic champion Danielle Aitchison who’s just sprinted her way to two gold medals at the World Games, to maths whizz Nate Liefting, who’s off to the Australian Parliament in Canberra to represent us at the Power of Speech event – where he and other First Voice members will help challenge perceptions of what young people with hearing differences can achieve.
I was truly privileged to join Deaf Aotearoa at the raising of the Deaf Flag at Parliament recently – the first time it’s ever flown in New Zealand. It was incredibly moving to see it fly, knowing that it represents not just visibility, but also respect and acknowledgement for the Deaf community here in Aotearoa.
This same recognition and pride was reflected in our recent workshops to mark Mental Health Awareness Week and Māori Language Week – I was so proud of the way our team celebrated and encouraged links between culture, identity and communication, while at the same time promoting wellbeing and support amongst each other.
We’re also celebrating our clinical director, Holly Teagle, who’s been a guiding force behind the recently-launched Living Guidelines for Adult Cochlear Implants -- a major step towards shaping future service delivery across Aotearoa and Australia. Holly will be taking her thought leadership on this topic to the global stage next week, when she represents The Hearing House at the Cochlear Implant International Community of Action symposium in Brussels.
Finally, we’re gearing up for one of our favourite days of the year this week with Loud Shirt Day being celebrated across New Zealand and Australia on Friday. This year’s trans-Tasman campaign will raise funds to ensure our clients can continue to lead their best lives, so don your loudest shirts that day and help us all GET LOUD!
Ngā mihi nui
Dr Claire Green, CEO