Singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte has given her dad Michael Bassingthwaighte the perfect gift for Father's Day - better hearing.
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Mr Bassingthwaighte, the former chief executive of Peoplecare, was born with perforated ear drums.
While his famous daughter has been busy home-schooling her two children in Byron Bay during lockdown, she has been dreaming of the day she can return to Wollongong to catch up with family.
There is nothing more she would prefer to do this Sunday than to be with her dad on Father's Day. But she is planning to do the next best thing and wish him a great day via Zoom.
And it will be a lot easier for him to hear after she gave him the gift of sound as a thank you for being such a great dad and support to her throughout here life and career.
She said it won't quite be the same as all getting together in one home as her family has enjoyed doing on many occasions.
But it will be easier than previous times for her dad when the Bassingthwaightes have all jumped on Zoom at the same time.
Because this time with his new Oticon hearing aids that include new MyMusic feature he will be able to hear everything everyone says more clearly.
Natalie said she and her three sisters all plan to make Father's Day as good as they can for their dad despite not being able to be with him in person.
"There is nothing better than all being in the same place, especially when it has been so long since we have seen each other," she said.
"We are all very much looking forward to lots of cuddles and lots of connection in person again after the lockdowns end.
"Whenever we can we like to make the most of those celebrations. And who doesn't want to see their dad on Father's Day.
"My dad has been our number one supporter. He supports all the decisions we (his girls) make in our lives and careers.
"And he has taught us that happiness is the most important thing.
"He is a very special human and a very special dad and grandfather of eight."
Natalie has not been able to work for many months but is enjoying the quality time she is presently having with her children.
Although like most parents she does admit home-schooling is a challenge.
But is so grateful for the time she is getting with her children, Harper and Hendrix McGlinchey.
Natalie does count herself incredibly lucky for the way good timing has allowed things to work out as well as they have for her professionally since lockdowns began in March 2020.
"Lockdown has been pretty challenging in almost every industry," she said.
"I am in the entertainment industry and performing to an audience is something that is very dear to my heart.
"Lockdown has been such a struggle for so many of my friends with shows being completely halted. Many have been receiving no pay and no government support."
Natalie said she doesn't know how it happened but she feels like someone has been looking out for her.
"I finished Chicago in 2020, which was a six month tour, then moved to Byron Bay and two months later COVID hit," she said.
"We were settling in getting the kids to school and I was ready to have a bit of a break at that time.
"Then a few months later when I felt like I was ready to work again there was nothing available.
"But I was fortunate to work on film before the end of last year and then did Chess the musical at the beginning of this year.
"Somehow we did Melbourne for two weeks. Then we went to Adelaide. We almost got shut down but didn't. Then we went to Perth and Brisbane. We managed to do all our spots and we didn't cancel a show. We were so incredibly lucky."
Natalie is hoping to make some announcements in coming weeks about what she will be doing after lockdown.
"I am ready to hit the road and ready to perform," she said.
Mr Bassingthwaighte said he was delighted with his daughter's Father's Day gift because he had been finding it increasingly difficult to hear, particularly in crowded places in recent years. He as suffered from hearing loss all his life.
And Natalie always sensed her father's frustration about not being able to hear everything people were saying.
Now when she speaks to him on FaceTime or Zoom she can see how much easier it is for him by the expression on his face.
Mr Bassingthwaighte told his daughter how frustrating it was to sit in a group and not be able to hear everything that was being said. And how he would listen to music but not be able to hear all the words.
But with the help of Oticon he has become the first Australian to experience one of the world's newest music technologies.
Oticon MyMusic is a new feature available on its hearing aids which is why Natalie chose to send them to her dad as a Father's Day gift six weeks ago.
"Sometimes those Zoom calls can get very frustrating when everyone is talking and you can't hear. I think this will really help make the sound a lot clearer for him," she said.
Natalie said like everyone else her father is eager to get back out into the community after lockdown.
"Dad is such a social person and very charismatic and I am sure he can't wait to see us and getting out there and being himself and doing what he loves to do," she said.
"I think everyone is missing that at the moment. I cannot wait until he comes to see a show and can get the full experience of being able to hear all the performance. That will be quite magical to watch."
Released in August Oticon MyMusic uses cutting edge technology to improve the experience of listening to music for anyone suffering hearing loss.
Mr Bassingthwaighte's said he is now able to turn the television volume down and not have to strategically sit at functions with his good ear facing the speaker.
He said his hearing device is small, rechargable and can be linked to compatible smartphones, allowing him to connect with his family more easily as well as directly stream music or control his hearings aids from an app. He can also answer the phone without it being in the same room.
He said having the chance to better hear all his children and grandchildren will make this Father's Day very special.
Despite two of his children and mother living in the Illawarra he said present regulations mean he won't be ale to see any of them in person on Sunday and is hoping the family will all be able to get together again at Christmas.
Another of his daughter lives in Canberra which is also in lockdown.
Natalie said she was so grateful he'll now have the ability to hear everyone more clearly.
Oticon Australia's national audiology manager Jonathan Constantine said more than 3.6 million Australians suffer from hearing loss the new technology focuses on the fact we hear with our brains not our ears.
"So like people who have good hearing we need to provide all of the sounds so the brain can work out which ones it wants to focus on," he said.
The new technology scans and analyses sound 500 times per second allowing the brain to process relevant sounds.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
