NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Deaf man who was NZ's youngest to get a cochlear implant graduates from University of Auckland

Simon Collins
By Simon Collins
Reporter·NZ Herald·
30 Apr, 2017 07:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Josh Foreman, the youngest person in NZ to receive a cochlear implant, talks about his life since receiving the implant and graduating university.

Being born totally deaf hasn't stopped a young Auckland man from graduating todaywith a Master's degree in clinical exercise physiology.

Josh Foreman, 25, was the youngest person in New Zealand to receive a cochlear implant when he was 2 and a half years old.

Josh Foreman's adoptive mother, Diane Foreman, was NZ Entrepreneur of the year in 2009. File/Photo
Josh Foreman's adoptive mother, Diane Foreman, was NZ Entrepreneur of the year in 2009. File/Photo

His adoptive parents, millionaires Bill and Diane Foreman, realised that he wasn't responding to sounds such as doorbells and barking dogs.

"So my dad took it upon himself to test me. He got two pots and stood over my cot while I was asleep and started banging them together, and I didn't wake up," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

More scientific tests followed, and confirmed that Foreman was profoundly deaf in both ears.

"Even if I stand beside a 747 jumbo jet I can't hear a thing," he said.

Josh Foreman, aged 10, using his cochlear implant to talk by phone to another boy born deaf in Australia. File/Photo
Josh Foreman, aged 10, using his cochlear implant to talk by phone to another boy born deaf in Australia. File/Photo

Doctors offered his parents a choice of sign language or what was then the new idea of a cochlear implant, an electronic device that gives deaf people a digital sense of sound but can't actually create the sounds that most people can hear.

"The quality of the voice changer is Donald the Duck speaking underwater, it's really quite disconcerting," Foreman said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The very first model I had was so big that I had to wear it on my back like a back-pack and a wire would come off it and attach to my ear."

Josh Foreman with his latest cochlear implant, which fits on to his ear. His first one was wired up to a back-pack. Photo/Greg Bowker
Josh Foreman with his latest cochlear implant, which fits on to his ear. His first one was wired up to a back-pack. Photo/Greg Bowker

But he is grateful that his parents chose to get him an implant, even though some deaf activists believe implants undermine the value of deaf culture.

"People are entitled to their own choice, but me, personally, I would say you should definitely get a cochlear implant because it will open new opportunities," he said.

It wasn't easy. It took him eight years to learn to speak properly, and he still needs to lip-read as well to make sure he understands people.

Discover more

Business

21-year-old raises $1.2m for Unfiltered

07 Mar 05:00 PM
New Zealand

Hearing loss costs New Zealand $4.9b

26 Mar 04:00 PM
Media and marketing

Unfiltered adds Roberts and Fyfe to board

26 Apr 09:13 PM

He needed full-time teacher aides throughout his schooling at King's School and then King's College. But in his first year at university he realised that he no longer needed the reader/writer assistant that he was given, and started taking his own notes.

"I always placed myself at the front of the class so I could hear the lecturer, and if I didn't catch something I'd ask them to repeat it or I'd check with my classmates," he said.

He completed a Bachelor of Physical Education in 2014. He loved sports and never let the cochlear implant become a barrier.

"I played rugby. I had custom-made headgear with more padding on one side [to protect the implant], and I played on the wing," he said.

He must take the device off his ear when he swims, but didn't let that stop him working as a swimming teacher.

"In the preschool pool I would sometimes leave it in because it was not too deep. For the older kids I'd take it out. I did all the talking and the kids did all the listening, hopefully they didn't need to ask questions."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He will graduate today with a Masters in Exercise Science and is working as an exercise physiologist for respiratory patients at the Greenlane Clinical Centre.

Josh Foreman, aged 9, with his speech therapist Liz Fairgray (centre) and Prime Minister Helen Clark at the opening of the Hearing House preschool in December 2000. File/Photo
Josh Foreman, aged 9, with his speech therapist Liz Fairgray (centre) and Prime Minister Helen Clark at the opening of the Hearing House preschool in December 2000. File/Photo

He also mentors teenagers with cochlear implants through the Hearing House charity, which his parents helped to fund.

"Sometimes they ask questions like, 'Will I ever get a job?' or 'Will I ever get a girlfriend?' " he said.

"I answer: 'Yes of course you will, you just have to work hard to get what you want. Just because you have got that cochlear implant doesn't mean you can't do anything.' "

Cochlear implants

What: A surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound for a deaf person, using a microphone behind the ear which transmits a signal to electrodes inside the inner ear.

Identification: All babies born in NZ since 2008 have been screened for deafness and are offered cochlear implants if they need them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Numbers

: The NZ government funds about 90 cochlear implants a year. About 1400 Kiwis now have the implants.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand|crime

Abused, addicted but not deported: Mum of six avoids 501 deportation after armed robbery

18 May 07:00 AM
New Zealand

Heavy rain hits Auckland with possible thunderstorms forecast tonight

18 May 06:03 AM
New Zealand

Man fighting for his life after South Auckland assault, police hunting three offenders

18 May 05:16 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Abused, addicted but not deported: Mum of six avoids 501 deportation after armed robbery

Abused, addicted but not deported: Mum of six avoids 501 deportation after armed robbery

18 May 07:00 AM

NZ woman helped plan armed robbery at her former workplace in Melbourne.

Heavy rain hits Auckland with possible thunderstorms forecast tonight

Heavy rain hits Auckland with possible thunderstorms forecast tonight

18 May 06:03 AM
Man fighting for his life after South Auckland assault, police hunting three offenders

Man fighting for his life after South Auckland assault, police hunting three offenders

18 May 05:16 AM
Former police officer and wife arrested after attack at Boyz II Men concert at Spark Arena

Former police officer and wife arrested after attack at Boyz II Men concert at Spark Arena

18 May 05:00 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP