Welcome to Resonate the Podcast. Your host, Lesleigh Smith, has 25 years of experience in the audiology industry. As a hearing aid wearer herself, she brings a depth of knowledge and a unique perspective you won't find anywhere else.
Every fortnight, she sits down with guests, experts, innovators, and everyday New Zealanders to help you understand how hearing loss affects your memory, relationships, and quality of life as you age. New episodes every fortnight from 3rd March 2026.
Most people picture hearing aids as chunky, uncomfortable beige devices of the 1970s.
But the reality is that hearing technology has changed dramatically and continues to evolve at an extraordinary pace.
In this episode of Resonate the Podcast, (resonatehealth.co.nz/podcast-hub) Lesleigh sits down with Dr Brent Edwards, the Director of Auditory Research at the National Acoustic Laboratories in Australia, one of the world’s leading research centres for hearing science and hearing-aid technology.
During the interview, Brent explains:
Where hearing technology stands today and what's coming next
How modern devices reduce mental fatigue
What the future of AI means for hearing technology
What Auracast is and why it could change how public spaces work for people with hearing loss
Why you should see an audiologist as soon as you suspect you have be losing your hearing.
5 May 2026
The Hearing-Cognition Connection with Dr Sigart Brant
What if we told you that the single greatest thing you can do for your brain health today has nothing to do with crossword puzzles or supplements and everything to do with your ears?
In this episode of Resonate the Podcast, Lesleigh sits down with Sigart Brant, a medical doctor and Director of BrainWorks, to discuss the link between hearing loss and cognitive function.
Sigart sits at the intersection of healthcare, innovation and policy. As the Director of BrainWorks, he’s focused on researching the connection between hearing health and cognitive, physical, and emotional wellbeing, and how we can use that research to create better outcomes for his patients and society.
During their conversation, they explore:
The link between hearing and cognition
How early action can increase our health span
Self-optimisation and ways to improve our quality of life
The impact untreated hearing loss has on increasing the risk of dementia
How we can use the latest innovation, technology, and research to create better outcomes for patients and society.
Plus, actionable tools to optimise your brain health and function.
If you’re worried about cognitive decline,or the impact hearing loss may be having on your brain, visit our A-Z hub (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/a-z)for practical information and support.
14 Apr 2026
The Hidden Connection: Hearing, Brain Health & How You Age
A quick hearing check tests your ability to hear sound. But it doesn’t explain how your hearing affects your sleep, memory, balance, tinnitus and brain health.
In Episode 5 of Resonate the Podcast, Lesleigh Smith sits down with Craig Lett to discuss how there is more to hearing than most of us realise.
Craig is a senior audiologist at Resonate Health (http://resonatehealth.co.nz/team/craig-lett) and PhD candidate at the University of Auckland. He was instrumental in developing Ear360, the world’s most comprehensive hearing assessment (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/ear360). Ear360 goes far beyond testing hearing ability, exploring the connection between hearing and other areas of your life, such as balance (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/categories/balance), sleep (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/categories/sleep), tinnitus (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/categories/tinnitus), memory (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/categories/memory), and cognitive fitness. In this conversation, he and Lesleigh unpack:
The science behind Ear360
How hearing loss affects the brain, cognition, and mental workload
The links between hearing, balance and sleep
The invisible consequences of untreated hearing loss
Why Resonate Health developed Ear360
How much more there is to hearing than most of us realise
How a whole-of-person approach to hearing care could change how we age.
About Craig Lett:
Craig Lett is an audiologist at Resonate Health and a PhD candidate at the University of Auckland, where his research focuses on TeleAudiology within a model of family-centred care.
He has spent his career accelerating innovations in hearing care. In 2017, he supported James Whittaker in launching New Zealand's first remote TeleAudiology service, bringing hearing care to rural communities via Te Waka Āwhina (Penelope), a 1949 Bedford Bus-turned-Mobile Hearing Clinic. He is also the creator of Resonates proprietary Ear360 assessment, the world’s most comprehensive hearing test.
Craig brings both clinical expertise and a genuine curiosity about the future of hearing healthcare and how TeleAudiology will lead to more efficient, effective, and widespread access to hearing healthcare on a global scale.
Craig’s research into TeleAudiology: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6437706/ (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6437706/ )
Learn more about Ear360 (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/ear360)
2 Apr 2026
Most people know sleep matters with Tim Stephenson
Most people know sleep matters.
But what if we told you that sleep was the single most important thing you could do for your brain health?
In Episode 3 of Resonate the Podcast, Lesleigh Smith sits down with Tim Stephenson, a sleep health specialist and the founder of Eden Sleep, one of New Zealand's most renowned sleep clinics. Today, he works with ResMed, a global leader in sleep-health solutions that has changed over 144 million lives worldwide.
Together, Tim and Lesleigh unpack why we sleep, how poor sleep impacts memory, attention, and emotional resilience, how untreated sleep disorders raise our risk of dementia and why so many people are chronically exhausted.
Tim's passionate about making sleep science accessible and giving you the tools to improve your longevity, not another reason to worry. At the end of their conversation, he shares simple, evidence-based steps you can take at home to sleep better and protect your long-term health.
Learn more about the connection between sleep and hearing: https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/categories/sleep (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/categories/sleep)Learn more about ResMed: https://www.resmed.co.nz (https://www.resmed.co.nz)
16 Mar 2026
Brain Health with Jude Walter from Brainfit World
Many people assume memory loss is a normal part of getting older.
But what if there was a way to keep our brains engaged at any age?
In this episode of Resonate the Podcast, Lesleigh sits down with Jude Walter, Director and Coach at Brainfit®World.
Jude opens up as she shares her own story of experiencing a severe mental breakdown in her early 30s and the ways it impacted her memory, thinking, and ability to function. That experience led her to discover the science of neuroplasticity and the brain’s ability to change, adapt, and strengthen throughout life.
Together, Lesleigh and Jude explore:
Why cognitive decline is often treated as inevitable
Why the brain behaves more like a muscle than a machine
How stress and cognitive overload affect memory and thinking
The connection between hearing loss, listening effort, and mental fatigue
Why prevention is often missing from healthcare
Practical ways you can start strengthening your brain this week
If you’re worried about cognitive decline, mental fatigue, or the impact hearing loss may be having on your brain, visit resonatehealth.co.nz (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/)for practical information and support.
Learn more about Brainfit®World (https://www.brainfit.world)
Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/resonate.health.nz), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/resonatehealthnz/) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/resonatehealth/)
10 Mar 2026
Tinnitus with Dr Grant Searchfield
Tinnitus affects around 6% of New Zealanders.
Yet it’s still widely misunderstood.
In this episode of Resonate the Podcast, Lesleigh (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/team/lesleigh-smith) sits down with Dr Grant Searchfield (https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/g-searchfield), one of the world’s leading tinnitus researchers and an audiologist who has spent decades studying how the brain processes sound.
Together they unpack what tinnitus actually is, why it happens, and why we're shifting away from “trying to fix the sound” and towards helping the brain respond to it differently.
Dr Searchfield, the Clinical Director of the University of Auckland’s Hearing and Tinnitus Clinic, collaborated on the creation of the Tinnitus Functional Index, internationally considered the gold standard measure on tinnitus’s effect on quality of life.
He explains why tinnitus is never a one-size-fits-all condition, how hearing aids and sound therapy can help the brain rebalance the way it processes sound, and what new research and technologies could mean for the future of tinnitus care.
They also talk honestly about what researchers still don’t know, the myths that continue to hold people back from seeking support, and the small steps people can take to make tinnitus easier to live with. In this episode:
Why tinnitus is different for every person
Why tinnitus is more about your brain than your ears
How hearing aids and sound therapy help manage tinnitus
The role attention, stress, and hearing play in tinnitus perception
What new tinnitus research and technologies are focusing on
How the future of AI could help make tinnitus care more accessible
The biggest myths about tinnitus
One practical thing you can try this week if tinnitus is affecting you
No one should face tinnitus alone. If tinnitus is taking a toll on your wellbeing or you’re worried about someone close to you, visit www.resonatehealth.co.nz/tinnitus (www.resonatehealth.co.nz/tinnitus) for more practical information, strategies and support.
Learn more:
About Dr Grant Searchfield - https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/g-searchfield (https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/g-searchfield)
Discover TrueSilence - https://gettruesilence.com/gettruesilence/ (https://gettruesilence.com/gettruesilence/)
2 Mar 2026
Why Hearing Health Matters for Healthy Ageing
In our first episode, Lesleigh (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/team/lesleigh-smith) sits down with James Whittaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmwhittaker/), Founder & CEO of Resonate Health (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=eopisode_1), to talk about why hearing deserves a much bigger place in the healthy ageing conversation.
James is a positive disruptor and thought leader in the industry, and someone who’s deeply passionate about making hearing healthcare more accessible, affordable and human.
Together, we explore what’s not working in the current hearing care system in New Zealand, why so many people wait years before seeking help, and the impact untreated hearing loss can have on your memory, mental fatigue, sleep quality and cognitive decline.
What is cognitive load?
Why does listening fatigue happen?
What do we actually know about hearing loss and cognitive decline?
How can early action improve our quality of life?
James also shares why Resonate Health takes a holistic approach to hearing healthcare, looking beyond a basic hearing test to consider how a person's hearing influences their cognition and long-term wellbeing.
Read more about James' story here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmwhittaker/)
Learn more about the link between hearing loss and cognition: (https://www.resonatehealth.co.nz/a-z/how-is-your-mental-and-cognitive-fitness-connected-to-your-hearing-health)
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