Helping the people of the Cook Islands

Our team of audiologists are back from the Cook Islands, where, in the space of two weeks, they saw 450 patients (271 adults and 179 children) and fitted 91 hearing aids!

We’ve been involved with humanitarian work in the Cook Islands for over a decade now. These trips are a big undertaking, requiring us to pack and travel with all of our audiology equipment, including audiometers and hearing aid fitting equipment. Our audiologists provide a full range of audiological services to help those who would otherwise have very limited access to hearing services.

This year, Brenna Sincock, Lisa Keen and Carolyn Till made the trip. Brenna spent a week working at Mangaia Hospital, where she enjoyed seeing the reaction of patients with severe hearing loss being able to hear their families again. She screened all the school children on the island and identified those who required further treatment. The kids loved having a trip out of school for their hearing tests, and enjoyed a ride back in the ambulance!

Lisa spent four days on Mauke, then flew to Aitutaki for another four days and returned to work at Rarotonga Hospital for the following week. Everyone was very appreciative of the services we provided.

Carolyn was based in Rarotonga for one week and was greeted upon arrival at the airport by an existing patient. She enjoyed helping the locals, who were very friendly, and also saw several people from the outer island of Manihiki, who were flown over four hours by small plane to see her.

We’d also like to thank everyone who donated hearing aids and accessories; they were received with many hugs and smiles of gratitude from the locals.

Read more about our outreach work here.