Providing cochlear implants and rehabilitative support for New Zealanders who have lost their hearing is what we do here at The Hearing House
Today, on International Cochlear Implant Day, we welcome the Labour Government's announcement that it will invest $6 million for 70 additional adult cochlear implants this year.
There are currently more than 1600 New Zealanders with a cochlear implant and 269 adults on the cochlear implant waitlist, 65 of whom are clients of The Hearing House.
The Hearing House Chief Executive Dr. Claire Green says: "This investment means 35 more people on our programme will have access to sound again - and the improved quality of life that comes with this."
Dr. Green also welcomes Labour's manifesto commitment to double the number of cochlear implants each year from 80 to 160 during this parliamentary term.
"It's a really positive and welcome indication of the value of the cochlear implant programme in New Zealand and we are looking forward to seeing this roll out," she says.
International Cochlear Implant Day
We are not alone in our work. There are organisations like us all around the world helping people experience sound through cochlear implants.
Here are some wonderful videos created by our international comrades that celebrate the incredible impact cochlear implants can make for many people with hearing loss.
Here's one from Med-El inviting you to experience the enjoyment of life and gratitude for the gift of hearing. It was created by animator and CI user Eric Giessmann:
This one comes from Wales thanks to the family of young Jack Bennington, who is profoundly deaf but his cochlear implants have changed his life:
About The Hearing House
We are a charity, funded in part by the Ministry of Health, which provides cochlear implants and rehabilitative support for New Zealanders who have lost their hearing.
Our services are delivered as part of the Northern Cochlear Implant Programme, and we support people with hearing loss and their wider whānau in the upper North Island, from Kaitaia to Turangi (if you live outside this area, please visit the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme).
Through our passionate and dedicated team of audiologists, habilitationists, cochlear implant surgeons and support staff we are able to provide a range of services and programmes to help hundreds of New Zealanders facing hearing loss live their best lives.
Our Cochlear Implant Programmes, therapy, outreach clinics and research supports around 300 children and over 600 adults who are at various stages of their journey to hearing.
Our clients include children as young as six months of age, up to adults in their 90s. For children who don’t benefit from hearing aids, cochlear implants and specialised habilitation can help them learn to speak, hear and reach their full potential in all aspects of life.
For adults, a cochlear implant, along with rehabilitative support, makes it possible to return to the workforce, re-engage with their family and social circles, and reintegrate into society.
As a charity we are reliant on the generosity and support of New Zealand trusts and foundations and our wonderful donors to meet the operational costs of delivering our programs and services.
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