6 March 2018 – The first thing that impressed hearing therapist Therese Leach about Pasifika Festival 2017 was the diversity of the crowd and its size – not to mention the “noise from so many people.”
It was just as well, then, that Hearing Therapy was there with a handy stash of ear plugs and great advice for looking after ears.
Pasifika Festival is the largest Pacific Island cultural festival of its kind in the world. It attracts over 60,000 visitors and features more than 200 performance groups and 200 food and craft stalls.
The festival is also an ideal place for the community to connect with services like Hearing Therapy.
Therese says the crowds certainly kept the team busy last year with a steady stream of people dropping by the Hearing Therapy stall, but the aim this year is to attract even more people to their site.
“Last year we examined 98 pairs of ears at Pasifika – and that was great – but this year we want to see even more.”
The team was also heartened by the number of people contacting them after seeing them at the festival to make a hearing therapy appointment.
Therese says the key message she has for people at Pasifika is just how easy the service is to access.
“We have clinics in communities across the city – from South Auckland, to central and west Auckland and as far north as Albany.”
In fact, Hearing Therapy clinics are delivered in welcoming community settings like healthcare centres, community centres and marae throughout New Zealand.
Hearing Therapy also welcomes the inclusion of family, friends and other communication partners at appointments.
The aim is to offer a service that’s easy to access, convenient and supportive of the individual needs of clients.
“One of the things that surprised a lot of people we spoke to last year was that they don’t need a referral from their GP to get help with their hearing. They can just call up and make an appointment to see their local hearing therapist at a time that suits them.
“And the fact the service is free and funded by the Ministry of Health is obviously a big bonus too.” says Therese.
Visit the Hearing Therapy team at Pasifika Festival at Western Springs on 24-25 March 2018.
