About Hearing Therapy
Are you concerned about your hearing? Are you missing things in conversation or having trouble getting your hearing aids working well for you?
Hearing loss can lead to communication breakdown and result in frustration and isolation.
Sometimes hearing loss can deprive a person of important life signals e.g. the kettle boiling, a tap at the door.
Hearing Therapy is a national service funded by the Ministry of Health and delivered by Life Unlimited Charitable Trust.
We provide free hearing assessments, information, hearing tests and support to New Zealand citizens and permanent residents aged 16 years and over.
Our service is independent. We don’t sell or fit hearing aids, but give independent advice about using hearing aids and other listening devices.
Call 0800 008 011 to book your free appointment with a qualified hearing therapist. Or complete our online referral form.
Read: Pitfalls to self-isolation when you cannot hear
Read: Consumer magazine investigative article on buying hearing aids and obtaining advice on living with hearing loss from Life Unlimited hearing therapists.
Tools and Resources to prepare for an appointment
Ida Telecare in Denmark offers people with hearing loss easy-to-use tools and resources to help them prepare for appointments and successfully manage daily communication.
What are the benefits?
- Allows people to prepare questions and highlight their priorities before the appointment
- Helps both hearing care professionals and their clients focus appointments on what matters most
- Enables clinicians to extend their care beyond the appointment and offer continued support
When Lloyd Morris visited hearing therapist Cherry McWha, he was concerned his hearing aids weren’t working for him anymore. Read more about Lloyd’s story.
How does Hearing Therapy work?
Living with a hearing impairment can be stressful. It can lead to difficulties at work and affect communication with family and friends. It may also affect self-esteem and lead to social isolation.
A qualified hearing therapist will work with you to evaluate your hearing and make a plan with you to reach your hearing-related goals and reduce the impact of hearing loss on your daily life.
A hearing therapist can…
- Complete a hearing evaluation and discuss your hearing difficulties with you
- Help you use your hearing more effectively and provide information about hearing health
- Teach ways of improving your communication skills
- Help you use hearing aids to greater effect
- Give information about equipment available to assist with daily living, like amplified telephones, personal listening devices, baby monitors, doorbell alarms and smoke detectors
- Teach speech reading and provide auditory training
- Offer advice and practical help to people with tinnitus
- Provide information about funding options
- Refer you to other health services if needed.
We can help your family, whanau and friends to better support your hearing issues. They are welcome to attend appointments with you.
Request an appointment online or call 0800 008 011 to talk to our reception team. We have qualified hearing therapists in communities across New Zealand.