By Jane Lee, National Director, Hearing Health
When mental health professionals talk about holistic care, hearing loss isn’t always part of the conversation.
But for millions of Australians living with hearing loss—especially those in deaf, Deaf, hard-of-hearing or hearing loss communities—mental health support that doesn’t include culturally safe, linguistically accessible care is not support at all.
Macro Impact Consulting is Here to Change That
This Deaf-led, hearing-aware social impact business is reframing how we talk about mental health, accessibility, and allyship across Deaf and hearing communities—and showing that inclusive care can’t happen in silos.
“Our work is unique in this space”
At the heart of Macro Impact Consulting is a partnership between Sigrid, a Deaf access advocate, arts worker and creative, and Louise, a hearing mental health professional with a background in psychology and nursing.
Photos courtesy of Macro Impact Consulting
They bring decades of lived and professional experience to a shared goal: to help health workers, services, and systems better support Deaf and hard of hearing people. That starts with education.
Macro Impact Consulting’s bilingual learning modules—delivered in both Auslan and English—were created collaboratively, grounded in adult learning design, and informed by community expertise.
“We promote access and bridge Deaf and hearing worlds via allyship,” they explain. “We work with everyone.”
It might sound simple. It isn’t.
More Than Just Another Training Session
Macro Impact Consulting’s programs are the only ones of their kind: an allyship model of practice that actively demonstrates bilingualism in real time.
They’re not diversity tick-boxes. They’re deeply practical, culturally affirmative, trauma-informed, and built to reflect the realities of both Deaf and hard of hearing people—inside and outside the mental health system.
“Our allyship model is both personal (between us) and professional (between sectors),” they explain. “We work alongside the Deaf Ecosystem—we have the same goals, but we have influence in different areas.”
Image: Macro Impact Consulting’s Model
Why it Matters Now
Macro Impact Consulting’s work was born from long-standing frustration—both personal and professional.
“All of my work—whether in community services, the arts or freelance work—has had some element of cultural bridging needed in order to genuinely meet the needs of myself and my community,” Sigrid shares.
She continues:
“With 30+ years of lived experience navigating systems and services, plus over a decade doing this professionally, I’ve seen a widespread lack of Deaf culturally affirming learning pathways for providers. I wanted to move beyond just advocating for access or inclusion, to actually working with professionals in the space as they upskill and learn about the specific needs of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) population. ‘Nothing about us without us.’”
Louise’s path started with a request: support Auslan interpreters experiencing vicarious trauma. It led to decades of mental health work, research, and a lived experience of vestibular dysfunction.
“While I was doing my PhD in mental health and counselling, I was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease,” she explains. “It brought in a new dimension of lived experience. My hearing fluctuates, but not to the level that I identify as Hard of Hearing. What has been far more significant are the vestibular impacts — dizziness, tinnitus, brain fog. They’re huge, very real, and often overlooked even within Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. That diagnosis truly changed how I saw the system.”
“They Just Don’t Know What They Don’t Know”
When asked what they most want health professionals to understand, Louise & Sigrid are clear:
“The biggest barrier we see is that health providers think they know what to do. They think if they book an interpreter, they’ve covered all their bases. They just don’t know what they don’t know.”
This matters even more in mental health.
“People are shocked to learn about the complex connections between hearing loss and mental health. Many who do our courses are surprised at how much depth there is. The other barrier is that people often don’t realise that they need this information before the client approaches them. So, they’ll say, ‘I never see deaf or hard of hearing people’. Given nearly 3 million people have some degree of hearing loss, it means health workers are probably not seeing it, not taking it into consideration in assessments and missing those impacts.”
From Report to Response
Macro Impact Consulting first reached out to us after reading our recent report on the experiences of people with hearing loss and mental health navigating health systems. Their response was encouraging:
“When we read the report we were really excited to see that what we’ve produced aligns with so many of the recommendations in your report. Five of our modules align directly.”
Two key messages in our report resonated deeply with their work:
- “That genuine co-design and accessibility requires understanding not just ‘how to’—but ‘why’. That’s the only way structural and systemic barriers can be addressed.”
- “That professional development for health workers needs to be embedded in practice—not an afterthought. That’s one of our core aims.”
Allyship: Going Beyond Inclusion
For Macro Impact Consulting, allyship is the bridge between systems and communities. But it’s not passive—it’s intentional.
“Allyship is more than partnership,” Louise says. “It needs to actively privilege the aspects of a relationship that are diminished by systemic inequities. Sometimes that means standing behind Sigrid—recognising my hearing privilege and stepping back. Other times it means using that privilege to speak out or push forward when Deaf voices are ignored or exhausted.”
As Sigrid reminds us:
“Deaf-led doesn’t have to mean Deaf people do all the work.”
That includes the emotional labour of navigating services that aren’t built for you.
“I can be disappointed and move on. A Deaf person can’t,” Louise explains. “It’s one more layer of exclusion—and they’re tired. They’re fatigued. They don’t always have the energy to advocate. But as hearing people, we can make a noise and still have the energy to get on with our lives. This is the kind of privilege we openly acknowledge and consider in the way we work.”
When Even Disability Services Miss the Mark
Macro Impact’s work often reveals the everyday friction points that make systems feel not just inaccessible—but actively excluding. Louise explains:
“It still shocks me when I hear about an audiology practice with no accessible booking system. Centrelink sending letters saying, ‘You haven’t answered our phone calls—you’ll be cut off.’
Text messages that say ‘Please call us to rebook’—but it’s a no-reply number.
The NDIS saying ‘We will call you on this date to assess your plan.’
But These things don’t surprise Sigrid. This is her life.”
Looking Ahead
Macro Impact Consulting’s message is both urgent and hopeful: the intersection of hearing loss and mental health is not a niche issue—it’s central to equitable care.
Their bilingual, bicultural, allyship-first approach is rare, but it doesn’t have to be. With better training, deeper listening, and more collaboration, systems can change.
As we prepare to co-host a webinar with Macro Impact Consulting on the topic of Deafness, hearing loss and mental health in honour of Mental Health Month in October, we’re reminded of one key message—from both our research and their lived experience: mental health and hearing health cannot be treated separately.
Every professional, regardless of field, has the opportunity to listen harder, go deeper, and learn more.
Join the Conversation
Save the Date: Wednesday 15th October 12noon to 1pm (AEDT)
Register Your Interest here.
Further Reading
- Our report: Exploring Help-Seeking Experiences Among People with Deafness or Hearing Loss & Mental Health Concerns
- Our summary of the report
- Macro Impact’s alignment response