The Health Clinic Nurses are pleased to let you know that Waitākere College is able to take part in a Hearing Screening Programme for all our Year 9 students. The National Foundation of Deaf and Hard of Hearing NFDHH endeavours to identify youth hearing loss so that students gain access to the support services they need to ensure their educational outcomes are not impacted by undetected hearing loss or hearing issues.

Each student will be seen by the team and have their ears assessed and given a hearing test. If a referral is required for ongoing treatment or investigation, the NFDHH will complete this, whether it is an ENT referral or hearing aids.

The hearing screening programme is for all year 9 students and is free of charge. Every young person in Year 9 will be seen unless the students or caregivers choose to opt out by sending an email to [email protected] We will then inform them of your opt-out request.

This is a great opportunity to run this programme, as over the last four years, we have consistently seen around 30% of all students report experiencing ringing in the ears (Tinnitus), which in the majority of cases can lead to hearing loss. Approx 50-60% of students are also listening to their personal devices at unsafe levels, which means they could permanently damage their hearing in the future. 

Tuesday 16th September and Wednesday 17th.

Please email the Nurses if you do not want to access this service.

Warm regards

Sarah and Rebekah

[email protected].