Lei has joined the Audiology South team

Posted Monday March 11, 2024

Originally from the Philippines, Lei is also trained in speech therapy and has worked in New Zealand audiology clinics for over 4 years. She is pleased to be joining a clinic where her speech therapy training is of value.

“Here, it's not just all about hearing aids,” she says. “I certainly have more freedom to help clients choose the best solutions to suit them. I work mainly with adults, but see a greater diversity of people who all come in with different needs and require different evaluations and management plans to meet their hearing health needs. Eventually I would also like to use my speech therapy training to help children with auditory processing disorders,” she says.

Lei loves the friendliness of New Zealanders, “It's a Kiwi thing,” she says. “And Audiology South certainly has a friendly team: everyone has been so welcoming, and it’s nice to be in a bigger, busier clinic — with more people coming in to see us it keeps the brain going. And Simon Melville is so approachable. If I have a question, I don't need to go through a multiple of people to make an appointment, I just shoot him an email or pick up the phone.”

Lei says New Zealanders are more open to trying hearing aids, and more aware and proactive about caring for their hearing than people in the Philippines, but, she says, this could be a factor of the countries differing wealth and accessibility of hearing care services.

Other than the months Lei and her husband Jay spent in Christchurch for training, since immigrating to New Zealand they have been Invercargill residents. Weekends, she says, are spent caring for their 15-month-old son, Jayson, going to the beach or park and enjoying family time. “He certainly keeps me busy,” she says.