The Bionics Institute is delighted to announce that Mackenzie Arnold has joined us as a hearing research ambassador.
Mackenzie Arnold has 44 caps for the national team since her debut in 2012 and is the Captain of English heavyweights, West Ham United FC.
After a stellar 2023 World Cup in Australia, where she was integral to Austalia’s on-field success, Mackenzie has been kicking goals in her promotion of something close to her heart – hearing loss.
A wearer of hearing aids, Mackenzie knows first-hand how important the joy of sound is.
“I’m such a proud ambassador of the Bionics Institute and hopefully I can put the awareness out there and get behind the researchers for the 1.5 billion people with hearing loss.”
During Covid, Mackenzie discovered the extent of her hearing loss and began to seek answers.
“When Covid hit, I realised [I was] probably lip reading a lot more than I may have thought.
“I went and got my hearing checked, straight away she was like, you need hearing aids and it sort of hit me quite hard at the time.”
Like a lot of people who receive a diagnosis of hearing loss for them or a loved one, it can come as a shock.
“At the time you think it’s just, the worst thing. I remember calling my best friends at the time, Alanna and Kate, and I was bawling. Knowing what I know now, I wish I could go back [and get] them earlier, because it changed my life for the better.”
We are very proud to have Mackenzie Arnold on board as an ambassador of our hearing research, which includes restoring hearing to people with age-related hearing impairment, developing diagnostic tools for infant hearing and tinnitus, and seeking new ways to improve the cochlear implant, originally developed by the Bionics Institute’s founder Professor Graeme Clark.
I’m such a proud ambassador of the Bionics Institute and hopefully I can put the awareness out there and get behind the researchers for the 1.5 billion people with hearing loss. Mackenzie Arnold, Australia and West Ham goalkeeper and Bionics Institute ambassador
