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. <b>Glossary of kupu Māori (Māori words): Hauora Māori</b>: Māori health; <b>Ihirangaranga</b>: Healing sound vibrations; <b>Iwi</b>: Tribe/s; <b>Kanohi ki te kanohi</b>: Face-to-face; <b>Karakia</b>: Prayer/blessing; <b>Karanga</b>: Ceremonial call or summoning; <b>Kaumātua</b>: Māori elder/s; <b>Kaupapa</b>: Main purpose of the encounter or collective vision; <b>Kaupapa Māori</b>: 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; <b>Kaupapa whānau</b>: Members with a common purpose or disabling experience who provide supporting and nurturing roles that traditional whānau provide; <b>Koha</b>: Gift; <b>Kōrero</b>: speak/discussion; <b>Mana</b>: Power; <b>Mana motuhake</b>: Independence, autonomy; <b>Manaakitanga</b>: The act of support and showing respect; <b>Māori</b>: The Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand also refers to normal/ordinary; <b>Māori-ki-te-Māori</b>: Māori to Māori; <b>Marae</b>: Māori communal and sacred meeting grounds where Māori values and philosophy are reaffirmed; <b>Mātauranga Māori</b>: Māori body of knowledge, epistemology, and worldview; <b>Me rongo i te whanaungatanga</b>: Feeling connected; <b>Mihimihi</b>: Greeting; <b>Mokopuna</b>: Grandchildren; <b>Paepae</b>: Place on the marae where orators sit, stand, and deliver their speeches; <b>Rōpū</b>: Group/s; <b>Taha hinengaro</b>: Mental and emotional wellbeing; <b>Tāmaki Makaurau</b>: Auckland region, Tāmaki-desired-by-many or Tāmaki of 100 lovers; <b>Tamariki Māori</b>: Māori child/ren; <b>tanga</b>: Being in the state of; <b>Tāngata whaikaha</b>: People with lived experiences of disability; <b>Tāngata whaikaha kaumātua</b>: Kaumātua with lived experiences of disability; <b>Tangata whenua</b>: People of the land; <b>Taonga</b>: a treasure to be valued and preserved; <b>Te Ao Māori</b>: The Māori world; <b>Te reo Māori</b>: The Māori language; <b>Te Taiao</b>: The natural world; <b>Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti)</b>: Te reo Māori version of a fundamental binding agreement in New Zealand between Māori and the British Crown; <b>Tino rangatiratanga</b>: Sovereignty, self-determination, sovereignty; <b>Waiata</b>: songs; <b>Whaikōrero</b>: Formal speech; <b>Whakamā</b>: Shy and ashamed; <b>Whakapapa</b>: Genealogical relation to all things living and non-living; <b>Whakapapa whānau</b>: Members genealogically connected by common ancestors; <b>Whakarongo</b>: Listen; <b>Whakawātea</b>: Reflections and clearing the pathway forward; <b>Whakawhanaungatanga</b>: The process of establishing and maintaining relationships; <b>Whānau</b>: Immediate and extended family network; <b>Whanaunga</b>: Relation; <b>Whenua</b>: Lands.