Meet Te Waka Āwhina: Our mobile hearing clinic
Meet Te Waka Āwhina: Our mobile hearing clinic
5 min
Published 13 August 2024
At Triton Hearing we’ve become the first company in the world to offer Triton TeleAudiology in a Mobile Hearing Clinic – an innovation that connects audiologists with clients around New Zealand using a high-definition teleconferencing system.
The canoe of support
One of the ways Triton Hearing uses this technology to assist clients around the country is through Te Waka Āwhina or Penelope, a striking 1949 Bedford Bus-turned-Mobile Hearing Clinic, who’s been stationed at various expos in rural areas around the country performing Triton TeleAudiology.Te Waka Āwhina can be interpreted in English as ‘the canoe of support’. Reverend Albie Martin used this phrase when referring to Penelope at Tri-ton Hearing’s Taranaki Tour launch at Owae Marae, Taranaki.Sharing the Gift of Better Hearing
- Innovation Days at Triton Hearing clinics with same-day hearing aid fittings.
- Marae visits where Triton Hearing has been able to test and fit kaumatua / pahake in regional communities.
- Community Days around New Zealand.
- Various local and national events around New Zealand.
“We proved to the world that we could do TeleAudiology. I wanted to take this a step further, I wanted to prove that we could do TeleAudiology in a mobile clinic and improve people’s lives.”
“One of the (Triton Hearing) pillars is accessibility. And I want to make sure we have something that can actually, genuinely go into communities that are struggling to do something about their hearing loss and the stigma of hearing loss.”