Hearing Week 2014: 24-31 March
This year during Hearing Week, we encouraged deaf and hard of hearing Kiwis to take advantage of the growing range of technology designed to improve their quality of life.
Hearing aids reduce your isolation and bring you a greater connection with family and friends, yet some people resist using them.
Cochlear implants are often described as a miracle.
Before I got cochlear implants I dreaded socialising, and I felt frustrated and excluded because of my hearing loss. Cochlear implants have made a huge difference. - Lance Cairns, NFD Ambassador
We also advocate for technology such as:
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1.
the Safe Sound Indicator, now in over 1500 preschools and primary schools
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2.
the CapTel service, which captions your phone conversation on a screen
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3.
captions on TV and movies.
Equal access to technology
While there's much to celebrate in technology advancements, there is still some way to go.
During Hearing Week we sent out posters and mailed letters to all MPs, highlighting the issue of equal access. The benefits of technology should be available for all the hard of hearing.
"Family movie times never have words and the [children’s] movies at the cinema don't have words either, so we can’t go now."
Annabel MacKay is deafened through a neuromuscular condition but was hearing until about age four, so she knows and remembers what is out there. Having returned to New Zealand from the UK, her family are frustrated by the lack of TV and movie subtitles in New Zealand.
Captioning: how are we making a difference?
Working with Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand and Hearing Association New Zealand, we're aiming for 100% broadcast captioning.
Read about our captioning campaign
Auditory Processing Disorder
We are pushing for full funding of hearing aids and FM equipment for children with APD. Read about our APD campaign
