New Zealand’s #1 Direct to Consumer Hearing Aids
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New Zealand’s #1 Direct to Consumer Hearing Aids
600+ Five Star Reviews
By Don Hudson, CEO of PocketAid
Hearing loss and the high cost of hearing aids are deepening the challenges faced by grandparent carers, leaving many struggling to connect with the children they love.
The travel agent’s animated chatter about Marlene’s* upcoming trip to Lord Howe Island immediately went on mute, when she stared down at her buzzing phone.
Over the past few tumultuous years, 71-year-old Marlene had become familiar with the number on the screen and had been dreading the call from Community Services.
With her troubled daughter now under a Mental Health Order, the officer gently asked, ‘Would Marlene be a in a position to step in as legal guardian of her two grandchildren?’
The trip will be cancelled. Her regular Wednesday coffee catch up with the seniors’ group will have to be put on hold, for now, and she’ll postpone that appointment with her GP about her ‘fuzzy’ hearing… just until things calm down.
Marlene’s beloved grandkids need her and, of course, she will drop everything to be that one caring constant in their lives.
In Australia, grandparents are increasingly stepping into caregiving roles for their grandchildren, often without the societal recognition or support systems they desperately need.
Recent figures reveal that approximately 40% of grandparents with grandchildren under 13 provide some level of care, and this rises to 63% when the youngest child is under ten. Among these, many offer regular weekly care or full-time parenting responsibilities, often triggered by crises such as death, financial hardship or – as in Marlene’s case – parental incapacity.
While the act of caring for grandchildren is often rooted in love, it brings many financial, emotional and social challenges, particularly for older Australians who are also experiencing age-related hearing loss. It creates a compounded crisis that remains largely overlooked.
Although grandparent caregivers save Australian families an estimated $2.3 billion annually in childcare costs, the caregivers themselves often shoulder the financial burden.
When caregiving shifts from part-time to full-time, the economic strain becomes more acute. Just as Marlene experienced, retirees often forgo travel, social outings and even basic self-care to ensure the child’s needs are met.
In households where the grandparent is the sole carer, the prioritisation of the child’s wellbeing often extends to forgoing personal health support, including hearing care.
Hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars, fall low on the list of financial priorities when faced with expenses like school supplies, clothing and medical needs for the child.
Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, typically begins with the decline in high-frequency hearing. This makes it particularly difficult for older adults to hear higher-pitched voices, like those of young children.
Research confirms that one of the earliest and most common signs of hearing loss is the reduced ability to detect soft and high-frequency sounds, which include many consonants and children’s speech.
For grandparent carers, this creates a hazardous and emotionally-draining environment, which Marlene can attest to.
She will never forgive herself for the time when the tiny, distressed call of her youngest charge, from the grandchildren’s bedroom, went unheard. She doesn’t know how long his little arm had been wedged behind the bookcase after he tried to retrieve his toy.
When a child’s calls are missed, the risk of injury or unmet needs increases. Instructions may be misunderstood or missed entirely, leading to frustration on both ends. In emergency situations, the inability to hear a child’s warning or distress call could have serious consequences.
This disconnect, brought about by hearing loss, contributes to emotional stress. Grandparents may feel guilt or shame when they realise they can’t respond effectively to their grandchild. This erodes their confidence and can foster feelings of inadequacy and helplessness.
For children, particularly those under ten who may lack the language to express their frustrations, the result can be confusion, behavioural issues or emotional withdrawal.
The carer-child bond can be strained as communication barriers grow, adding an invisible layer of stress to a caregiving role that is already physically and emotionally demanding.
Marlene did not think twice about prioritising the needs of her grandchildren over her own. Nor did she give a thought to the price she would pay for shelving her own social and emotional needs – forgoing her travel and leisure time when her calendar was suddenly dominated by school drop-offs, meal prep and bedtime stories.
The loss of socialising with your own people is profound. Compounding this is the isolating nature of hearing loss, which can make social interactions tiring, embarrassing or frustrating.
This dual isolation has far-reaching mental health implications with loneliness linked to depression, cognitive decline and even increased mortality rates in older adults.
When Marlene gave up her own social life to care for her grandchildren, because the daily struggle to communicate left her so drained, she didn’t realise she would grieve the loss of the person she had been and the carefree retirement she had once seen for herself.
What emerges is a vicious cycle: grandparents prioritise the needs of the child above their own, delaying or avoiding necessary health interventions like hearing aids due to cost or guilt. This, in turn, makes caregiving more difficult and emotionally taxing, further diminishing their capacity to cope or seek help.
The cost of hearing aids in Australia can range from $1,500 to over $5,000 per device. For a retired person on a fixed income already spending significant resources on raising a child, such expenses are often out of reach and hearing care becomes another casualty of their caregiving role.
The bond between grandparent and grandchild is special, but when layered with hearing loss, financial strain and social isolation, it becomes a heavy burden.
We must listen to the needs of this caregiving army.
Their ability to hear, care and connect is vital not only to the wellbeing of the children they raise, but to the fabric of society itself.
While clinic-based hearing care is the most common pathway in Australia, it can be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming for grandparent carers already stretched thin.
Fortunately, alternatives are emerging that offer convenience and affordability, without sacrificing quality.
PocketAid has developed a free digital hearing aid simulator that allows anyone to learn more about their hearing needs from the comfort of their own home. This intuitive tool helps users experience the difference a hearing aid can make to their lives, without also experiencing pressure to immediately purchase costly hearing devices or attend multiple in-person appointments.
The PocketAid online hearing aid simulator provides a personalised experience where users can trial simulated 12 hearing loss scenarios and explore how hearing aids might improve clarity and comfort in daily conversations.
It’s a gentle and empowering first step for anyone hesitant or financially unable to commit to traditional hearing aids.
PocketAid also offers a line of over-the-counter hearing aids. These ready-to-use devices are highly cost-effective and delivered straight to the door, eliminating the need for clinic visits.
For grandparents juggling caring responsibilities and a limited budget, this new wave of hearing solutions answers the call for accessible, timely support.
It’s a compassionate response to a growing problem.
Marlene should not have to choose between meeting the needs of others and getting help for her own health challenges.
When she decided to put herself first, for once, Marlene jumped online to give the hearing aid simulator a try in what turned out to be a fun, eye-opening session for both her and her eldest grandchild. She’s now feeling more in control of the next step and better informed of the options open to her.
No grandparent should have to choose between their hearing health and their ability to care for the grandchildren they love.
*Name changed to honour privacy
Don Hudson is the CEO and co-founder of PocketAid, an Australian health-tech company providing affordable, ready-to-use hearing aids online.
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