Meet the team

In 2014, Simon Melville joined Audiology South as a senior audiologist, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge in both the clinical and managerial aspects of audiology. Originally trained in Auckland, Simon ran Bay Audiology in the South Island before entering senior management for the Bay Audiology group.

His patients benefit from his experience both in NZ and abroad, where he has developed in-depth knowledge in diagnosing and managing hearing loss, tinnitus treatment, and cochlear implantation. Simon lives on a lifestyle block just out of Arrowtown and enjoys keeping active year-round with summer and winter sports.

Anthony followed his father and grandfather into Audiology, originally taking on the family business at Dunedin Hearing Clinic. After working with Simon Melville at Bay Audiology, the two combined their skills and experience within the only independent Audiology practice in the South. Since 1999, Anthony has been a full member of the New Zealand Audiological Society (NZAS) and previously served on several committees within NZAS.

As a senior audiologist, Anthony brings a broad knowledge base across all aspects of hearing and hearing aid technology with a particular interest in tinnitus management. Anthony still lives in Dunedin, and when he’s not in the clinic, or with the family, he’ll be out training for a multi-sport event.

Anne recently joined Audiology South as a Senior Audiologist in the Dunedin clinic. Having grown up in Central Otago, she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Massey University before starting as a Trainee Audiologist at Dunedin Hospital in 1980. By 1983, Anne had gained a Master’s Degree in Audiology and Speech Science from Purdue University (USA).

She has since worked in many locations overseas and around NZ, in both public hospitals and private clinics. Anne is now well settled on a small lifestyle block in North Taieri!

Nicholas works as a Senior Audiologist in the Gore and Invercargill clinics. He is a proud 6th generation Southlander, grew up on a farm at Edendale and has an Agricultural undergraduate degree from Lincoln University. Having been born with hearing loss he became interested in the field of Audiology and re-trained, gaining a Masters Degree from Auckland University in 2005. He has since worked in Independent private practice clinics in Dunedin, the North Island and more recently Moreton Bay (Queensland).

Nicholas and his wife live in Invercargill where he attends church, he has a keen interest in cars, and enjoys trail running with friends and other activities on offer and places to visit in our beautiful region.

Rachel joined Audiology South as a new graduate audiologist in 2020. She trained and worked as a primary school teacher in Christchurch before studying for her Master of Audiology degree. She enjoys working with both children and adults in our Dunedin, Oamaru and Balclutha clinics. Rachel is passionate about providing outstanding customer service and support for her clients.

Originally from the UK, Rachel moved to New Zealand at the age of 19 with her family. In her spare time she stays busy with a variety of creative hobbies including dance, piano and art.

Bettina started her career as a special education teacher tutoring children with hearing disabilities, so she saw first-hand the impact it had on their learning. It was then that she decided to switch careers and qualify with a Master in Clinical Audiology.

Before joining our Southland team in 2018, Bettina worked for a private audiology firm in the Philippines for almost 2 years, working with both children and adults. Bettina loves working in audiology as its such a rewarding profession, especially when she sees the smiles and the sparkling eyes of her clients when they can hear clearly again.

Originally from Canada, Darren completed an undergraduate degree in Genetics and Biochemistry before moving to Auckland in 2014. Upon graduating from the Master of Audiology programme in 2016, he ventured to the South Island and has called Dunedin home ever since. During that time, he has worked as a clinician and clinical manager throughout the Otago region before joining the Audiology South team in 2022. He is passionate about getting to know his clients' unique listening needs and helping reconnect them to the world with cutting edge technology.

In his spare time Darren can be found playing ice hockey, exploring New Zealand's beautiful outdoors, or lining up the next DIY home project.

Hilary recently “came home” to the Mainland after working for many years in the Wellington region for a Danish hearing aid supplier and a local independent audiology clinic.

Originally from Tuatapere, Southland, Hilary says she is happy to be back in the South Island for the change of scene and pace, and plans to settle in Central Otago.

“I’m excited to be working with Southern people again and to be nearer to family,” she says.

“I’m really pleased to be working for Audiology South,” she says. “It’s important to me to be able to help people access the technology most suited to their hearing needs, rather than being confined by manufacturer supply agreements.”

Regina divides her work-week between Te Whatu Ora, Invercargill Hospital, and Audiology South. On Wednesdays and Fridays, you’ll find her at our Invercargill clinic and in our Winton clinic on Thursdays.

“I love the work-week split,” she says. “In the hospital setting I mainly see children; kids are just so cute! My challenge is to keep the child on task for testing while at the same time giving whānau accurate information and trying to minimise their anxiety.

“I also get involved with different hospital departments, such as ENT and oncology, which is fascinating, and exposes me to medical fields other than audiology.

“At Audiology South I tend to see adults. I’m passionate about helping people improve their quality of life and it’s satisfying when a person comes out of an appointment feeling better than they came in. It’s not just about their hearing, but feeling more confident in their social lives,” Regina says.

Originally from the Philippines, Lei also worked as a speech and language therapist for several years before finishing her Master’s degree in Clinical Audiology. She found a good correlation with these two professions in helping people with hearing difficulties.
Moving to New Zealand 5 years ago, she decided to focus on her audiology practice. She is pleased to be joining a clinic where her speech therapy experience is of value. She is enjoying the relaxed life of being an Invercargill resident and is always on the lookout for good food finds in the country. If not singing a tune on their karaoke, weekends are spent with her husband and son, going to the beach or park and enjoying family time.

Deborah has loads of experience at hand with years of work at Invercargill’s Public hospital Audiology Department. Deb brings a passion and drive to get the best result for each and every client she sees. With all of this experience, nothing is too tricky for Deb!

Helen has been a Registered Nurse for over 25 years, working both in NZ and abroad in a variety of nursing roles and fields. She recently returned to NZ with her husband and child and they have settled in Port Chalmers on a small acreage.

Helen is passionate about nursing and strives to give excellent quality care at all times. She joined the Audiology South Team in 2020 and is excited to be in a role where she can utilise her existing skills and acquire new ones within a great team atmosphere.

After completing her Ear Nurse Certificate and supervision period, Helen is now providing wax removal and hearing screening services in Dunedin and Mosgiel, alongside our team of experienced Audiologists. She looks forward to meeting you.

A registered nurse for over 25 years, Carole has a passion for people and has enjoyed working in a variety of community nursing roles to provide primary health services, preventative care, and health education. With three years of recent experience working in the Audiology field, Carole loves to see the improvements that better ear care and function provides and the difference this makes to clients and their families.

Originally from Waimate, and a product of St Kevin’s High School, Mairead graduated from nursing school in 2013 and has a background in primary health and practice nursing. She was our first Ear Nurse at Audiology South, working from our Dunedin clinic back in 2018.

After a successful first year we were sad to lose her to a second OE to Scotland where she worked at Hospitals in Edinburgh, as a Florist in Italy and London and farms across Scotland and Norway (she’s quite exotic).

Mairead is back home in the South of NZ and will be providing wax removal and ear hygiene services from our Wānaka clinic while continuing with part-time work as a practice nurse and florist in Wānaka. “I loved working with the great team at Audiology South the first time around so I’m back”, says Mairead.

Mairead enjoys exploring and travelling, anything outdoors, socialising and meeting people, hearing their stories and just having a good yarn!

Nicky is originally from the Dunedin area and studied nursing in Invercargill. She has been nursing for 8 years and has experience in various roles including medical, surgical, aged care and occupational health.

Since moving over to Queenstown 2.5 years ago she has been working as an occupational health nurse
in the Central Otago area. Nicky recently joined Audiology South as an ear nurse and will be based in
our Queenstown clinic. She is loving her new role and is enjoying being part of the team at Audiology South.

Maura has been a registered nurse for over 30 yrs. She has had a variety of roles, most recently as an occupational health nurse, and previously in operating theatres and surgical wards both in NZ and overseas. Maura joined Audiology South in April of 2024 and is enjoying getting to know our regular clients as well as meeting new ones. She works out of our Otago clinics and strives to provide the best possible ear health care to all who come through her door.

As well as her love of travel Maura enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking her dogs, beekeeping and gardening at her home on the Otago Peninsula.