Loud Shirt Day encourages New Zealanders to dress up in their brightest outfits, donate to the NZ cochlear implant programmes, and give the gift of sound
Cochlear implants provide children and adults who are hard of hearing with access to sound, but receiving an implant isn’t simply about hearing.
Richard Green, of Auckland, has made the conscious decision that his implant won’t change his vibrant and confident fashion style, characterised by a mohawk, piercings, and colourful clothing.
With his trademark self-expression, Richard has seamlessly woven his cochlear implant into his distinctive style. His collection of colourful kilts is co-ordinated with a range of differently coloured implant sleeves.
“People often comment that it's cool to ‘own’ the cochlear,” he says. “I can still be my own person with a cochlear implant, and I treasure that.”
“I do life modelling, and some of the students thought it was something I put on to add to the drawing. It's amazing how many comments I get from artists about it being an interesting thing to draw.”
Richard, and thousands of other adults and children with cochlear implants, are the focus of Loud Shirt Day 2024 – a national fundraising event and awareness campaign being held on Friday, 18 October. New Zealanders are encouraged to dress up in their brightest outfits and hold fundraising events at workplaces, homes and schools throughout the country.
Loud Shirt Day is the annual appeal of The Hearing House (THH) and the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme (SCIP) – the only two charities in New Zealand dedicated to helping children and adults with a cochlear implant learn to listen, speak and reconnect with school, work and the community.
Breaking down barriers
Five years ago, the course of Richard’s life took a dramatic turn when he was struck by a car while crossing Auckland’s College Hill at 11 o’clock one Wednesday morning after a meeting.
The accident left him with multiple injuries, and as he lay in hospital, he noticed something was wrong with his hearing. “It felt weird,” he recounted to the trauma surgeon at the time.
Tragically, he would later learn that the impact of the accident had caused him to lose all hearing in his left ear.
Over the following six months, Richard explored various options to help improve his ability to hear.
Hearing aids seemed like a logical choice, but they fell short, especially in the context of his work in the creative and events industries, where multi-tasking in noisy, busy environments is crucial.
Richard is at the helm of the arts organisation He Waka Eke Noa Charitable Trust, where he orchestrates a vibrant array of events and festivals, spearheads the nationally renowned Ugly Shakespeare Company, and oversees Kete Aronui, a dynamic creative space in Onehunga. Now they have opened their theatre space too, The Factory Theatre, which again requires multiple demands on his hearing at one time.
He found himself getting demoralised – and exhausted – by his lack of hearing. Work became a struggle.
Two years ago, his audiologist encouraged him to consider a cochlear implant, and Richard was referred to the Hearing House for an assessment.
Cochlear implants use a sound processor that fits behind the ear and pulls in sounds from outside the ear. It sends sound signals to a receiver that's been placed under the skin behind the ear. The signals trigger the cochlear nerve and the nerve sends the signals to the brain.
Richard was found to be suitable for the device and has been supported by The Hearing House ever since.
The specialist team of speech language therapists, audiologists and family support counsellors has offered insights into rehabilitation, fostered a sense of community through its networking outreach and ensured he was supported every step of the way.
“It’s quite challenging,” Richard admits. “It’s something you’ve got to learn to live with, but the support I’ve had from The Hearing House has been incredible.”
Richard says he wishes cochlear implants and hearing aids were more normalised, and he’s lobbying to break down the barriers facing the hard of hearing community.
"I've been selected to train and facilitate around disability responsiveness in the arts sector, and I’m fascinated how there are still barriers for both practitioners and audiences who are part of the hard of hearing community.
“I also find when people realise it's a cochlear implant, they suddenly talk to me as if I'm stupid. I gently inform them that I'm not.”
Richard recently attended a week-long residential training programme on good governance with the Institute of Directors and he used ‘Roger’ (wireless technology to stream sound directly into his CIs) all week.
“It changed the way I engaged,” says Richard. “It was even better when I got the facilitators to use the (microphone transmitter) lanyard! It's often hard in those environments to catch everything that people say, and the technology really makes a difference.”
Adding unique flair to every user’s experience
Amidst the challenges of adapting to a new experience of hearing, Richard found solace in his love for music. He discovered that with his new cochlear implant, he could once again relish the crystal-clear melodies of his cherished vinyl collection.
As Richard researched what was involved with the implant technology and rehabilitation, he was surprised by the information and recommendations about cochlear implants that he read in articles and on websites. Suggestions included keeping the processor under a scarf, hat or long hair to keep it hidden. This ran contrary to Richard’s style.
Ever the creative visionary, Richard has bigger plans on the horizon. He envisions 3-D printing and designing a series of personalised vinyl sheets to adorn the sleeves of fellow cochlear implant wearers, adding a unique flair to each user’s experience.
A comprehensive specialist care model
Surgery and the subsequent switch-on is only one part of the cochlear implant process. Clients need to learn how to use the technology and interpret the new sounds through ongoing audiology and speech and language therapy.
The programmes and services offered by The Hearing House and Southern Cochlear Implant Programme include assessment, cochlear implant surgery, listening and spoken language therapy, audiology, outreach programmes for regional and remote patients, and whānau support and counselling services. Both organisations are also committed to clinical research and professional development.
The Southern Cochlear Implant programme (SCIP) and The Hearing House (THH) have been providing specialised care to more than 2,000 adults and children who access sound with cochlear implants throughout Aotearoa New Zealand for the past 20 years.
With offices in Auckland (THH), Christchurch and Wellington (SCIP) our passionate and dedicated teams of audiologists, specialised therapists, and support staff deliver a range of services and therapy programmes to assist people with cochlear implants and their wider whānau as they learn to listen and communicate.
Our teams work with clients, whānau and partners to establish a community of care that enables people to make choices about their own lives at each stage of their journey, with a variety of flexible and creative approaches tailored to suit any communication mode, language, or culture.
As charities, we rely on fundraising and donations to bridge the shortfall in the public funding we receive to provide unique services and programmes to our kiritaki (clients), including outreach clinics and the Cochlear Implant Repair Fund, and to help cover our operating costs.
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