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Pair’s Pacific odyssey delivers the wonder of sound

Husband and wife audiologists, Philip and Cristy Newall, have visited Samoa 26 times, helping deliver the gift of sound to some 500 people.
Philip and Crisy standing outside a building in Samoa
  • Hearing

NextSense Life Member and NextSense Institute Professorial Fellow, Philip Newall AM and his wife, Cristy Newall, recently returned from their 26th trip to the small South Pacific island nation of Samoa, where they have been undertaking hearing assessments, fitting hearing aids and training locals for 17 years.

The audiologist pair has now completed almost 1000 hearing assessments and fitted 485 hearing aids and 13 bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs).

Philip first visited Samoa in 2008 on the invitation of Jan North, who was our coordinator of Paediatric Services at the time.

Over the years, audiologists working at NextSense have taken time off work to work with Philip and Cristy during their trips to Samoa. Macquarie University Master of Clinical Audiology students have also cleaned and checked used hearing aids donated as part of the pair’s work.

Volunteers from other organisations and businesses such as Attune Hearing, Hearing Australia and Amplifon have joined Philip and Cristy on their trips.

The teams train local staff to manage client interactions, book appointments, and provide follow-up care.

— Philip Newall

This ensures continuity of care even when the international volunteers are not on the island.

Samoa’s population of about 220,000 people is too small to support training programs for audiologists. Prior to 2006, no hearing aids had been fitted in the country, where about 10 per cent of children have hearing loss – in Australia it is around two per cent, though it is much more prevalent in some Indigenous communities.

On their most recent trip, which they paid for themselves, Philip and Cristy assessed the hearing of 27 adults and children and fitted 17 new hearing aids and 18 donated used hearing aids.

“We left many other aids to be fitted by local staff and took 25 earmould impressions, which will be made up into custom-made earmoulds at no charge by hearing aid manufacturer, GN Hearing,” Philip says.

“Most of the clients we saw had very severe to profound hearing losses. We saw faces light up as they heard sounds”.

— Philip Newall

“The children in particular will now be able to hear more easily in the classroom, and this will eventually help them to gain employment.”

Samoa has benefited significantly from Philip and Cristy’s work, with most local children with hearing loss now fitted with hearing aids and BAHAs.

Educational outcomes for children with hearing loss has also improved through better access to schooling and the ability to participate more fully in their communities.

Economic empowerment has been achieved through improved hearing directly translating to better employment opportunities.

The informal training delivered by Philip, Cristy and the volunteers has built a valuable local resource pool that can manage the program's operations and maintenance.

About Professor Newall

Professor Newall has a longstanding association with NextSense, having worked as an honorary audiologist from 1990-2007. In 2007 he became a Professorial Fellow in our research and professional education arm, NextSense Institute, and later Honorary Professorial Fellow, a position he continues to hold, with distinction. He was named a Life Member in 2022 for his dedication to NextSense.