Taringa Whakarongo: Kaumātua & whānau experiences of hearing loss & hearing healthcare in Tāmaki Makaurau.

The 'Taringa Whakarongo' [TW] project presents the first narratives on hearing loss and hearing healthcare [HHC] among kaumātua and whānau. The purpose behind the project was to explore kaumātua and their whānau lived experiences of hearing loss and HHC. Hearing health care professionals' and Māori health professionals' perspectives were also examined. Through a Kaupapa Māori lens and reflexive thematic analysis, the sense of hearing was identified as a taonga among kaumātua. However, colonisation, societal stigma of hearing loss, and barriers to accessing whānau-centred HHC and hearing technology continue to impact kaumātua with hearing difficulties and their whānau. Hard-of-hearing kaumātua can thrive in their communities when they and their whānau are supported. Highlighted in this article are key recommendations for the Crown and health sector based on research partner narratives including valuing and prioritising whānau-centered care; supporting whakawhanaungatanga, Māori HHC leadership and culturally safe care; continuing Kaupapa Māori research endeavours and adopting an Indigenous rights-based approach to hearing health. : Māori health; : Healing sound vibrations; : Tribe/s; : Face-to-face; : Prayer/blessing; : Ceremonial call or summoning; : Māori elder/s; : Main purpose of the encounter or collective vision; : Embedded within Māori practices, values, beliefs, it is a by Māori, for Māori, with Māori, philosophical and relational way of doing, connecting, being, and thinking; : Members with a common purpose or disabling experience who provide supporting and nurturing roles that traditional whānau provide; : Gift; : speak/discussion; : Power; : Independence, autonomy; : The act of support and showing respect; : The Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand also refers to normal/ordinary; : Māori to Māori; : Māori communal and sacred meeting grounds where Māori values and philosophy are reaffirmed; : Māori body of knowledge, epistemology, and worldview; : Feeling connected; : Greeting; : Grandchildren; : Place on the marae where orators sit, stand, and deliver their speeches; : Group/s; : Mental and emotional wellbeing; : Auckland region, Tāmaki-desired-by-many or Tāmaki of 100 lovers; : Māori child/ren; : Being in the state of; : People with lived experiences of disability; : Kaumātua with lived experiences of disability; : People of the land; : a treasure to be valued and preserved; : The Māori world; : The Māori language; : The natural world; : Te reo Māori version of a fundamental binding agreement in New Zealand between Māori and the British Crown; : Sovereignty, self-determination, sovereignty; : songs; : Formal speech; : Shy and ashamed; : Genealogical relation to all things living and non-living; : Members genealogically connected by common ancestors; : Listen; : Reflections and clearing the pathway forward; : The process of establishing and maintaining relationships; : Immediate and extended family network; : Relation; : Lands.