Since 2019, more than 40,000 New Zealanders have taken part in the Great Big Hearing Check. This March, the campaign returns with a simple question: Who do you hear for?
Hearing is rarely just about ourselves. It is about the people we show up for every day — our children, partners, friends and colleagues. It is the conversations around the dinner table, the banter on the worksite, the quiet chats in the car and the laughter shared over coffee.
When hearing begins to decline, it often happens gradually: a missed punchline, a half-heard instruction, the TV volume creeping higher.
Many people adjust and dismiss it as minor.
Now in its seventh year, the Great Big Hearing Check has become a nationwide event. Tens of thousands of Kiwis have taken just a few minutes to check their hearing — many for the first time.
As part of New Zealand Hearing Awareness Month this March, New Zealanders can complete the free, four-minute hearing check online at GreatBigHearingCheck.co.nz, at selected Unichem and Life Pharmacies, Farmlands stores, and at Triton Hearing clinics nationwide.
The hearing check is quick, accessible and designed to help New Zealanders better understand their hearing. For many, taking action has been life-changing. One Triton Hearing client shared:
“With my new hearing aids I am enjoying not saying, ‘I beg your pardon’ or second guessing what people are saying to me. My family are thrilled they don’t have to repeat themselves.”
Another client from Triton Hearing Rotorua, a mechanic with nearly 20 years in the motor industry, said prolonged exposure to loud workshop environments gradually affected his hearing.
“Not until recently at the age of 39… I noticed I was asking people to repeat things to me when they were next to me. So, I took a hearing test with Triton Hearing. It was fast and easy to get an appointment for a quick 15-minute test. I showed up to the clinic — very friendly staff and technician.”
This year, participants who complete the check during March will go in the draw to win a share of more than $10,000 in prizes, including the latest AI hearing technology from Triton Hearing or a $2,000 Luxury Escapes gift voucher.
In addition, for every check completed online or at a Triton Hearing kiosk, $1 will be donated to the National Foundation for Deaf & Hard of Hearing to support its School Screening Programme.
Managing Director, Ben Green says this year’s message centres on connection.
“We know people are more likely to act when they think about who they’re doing it for,” Green says.
“A hearing check takes just a few minutes, but it can open the door to clearer conversations and stronger relationships. At the same time, every check helps support Kiwi kids through our donation to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Foundation.”
The call to action is simple: take the free Great Big Hearing Check this March and hear for the people who matter most, visit greatbighearingcheck.co.nz.
