One of the reasons I became an Audiologist over 20 years ago was that I witnessed so many difficulties my nan suffered at the hands of hearing loss. I watched it impact upon her ability to engage on so many levels – family, friends and socialising – that it inspired me to make a difference “…when I grew up…”. So, following a period of study, qualification, and working within the NHS, I decided to start Steven Hale Hearing, and offer that tailor made difference to the hearing health community.
Here are five of the things I most enjoy about my Audiology work:
- Listening. It surprised me initially that so much of my work in audiology would revolve around listening! However, when you think about it, it is the absolute backbone of successful hearing health. Not only do I listen to the clients at their appointments so that I can ascertain their well-being, levels of loss, impacts and lifestyle, I also then listen through all of the parts of assessment and testing in order to make a precise diagnosis of their issues. I then listen to their progress and am continually asking for feedback in order to best serve them – it’s all about welfare after all.
- Learning. This is never ending process, and another really exciting aspect of my daily work. In fact, not only do I continually learn from my clients – and, in some cases, their family members too – but also from the Audiological industry, into which I am deeply immersed. Apart from local business networks, I am also a Council Member at AIHPP (Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Professionals). This is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at ensuring the public are provided with the best possible standards of hearing care. I also regularly attend conferences – sometimes across the world – to network and study new devices and technology. I find this is the best way to ‘be ahead of the game’ with regards to new products and innovations. As soon as I return, I try to integrate this new knowledge into our services as soon as possible. Also, as many of my clients are older than me, I am in the privileged position of learning all sorts of life skills and tips from them – in one case I found out how to open a bottle of wine without ruining it if the cork had broken! Invaluable!
- Making a difference. If we return to my nan for a moment, I would have loved to have been the person who provided her with some of the most modern solutions in hearing aid technology, and to have seen at first hand how much of a difference these interventions would have made to her life. I know her face would have lit up as she listened to us chatting about our childish lives, or when we played together, or sang and told stories. In fact, I think of her daily as I see this happen to my clients, and their relief and joy as the product we provide makes such a huge difference to them. It feels like this is what I was born to do, and that is amazing.
- Relationships. I believe that one thing that sets me aside from many other practices is the relationships I am able to form with my clients. Owing to the fact that we are an independent business, we are able to offer that personal service in an unhurried and genuine way which means we can focus on “…solving not selling…” with regards to your hearing issues. We ensure that our diaries are never too full to make time for you, and that any staff we employ are ‘on brand’ with my values and expectations of service. Hearing health is very much a part of our holistic health, so, as we have written about previously, instead of withdrawing from situations because of difficulties you have hearing, which may compound neurological issues such as Alzheimer’s, you can be much more involved and active. As we relate to you, our client, we learn about your lifestyle too, so that solutions we offer will meet your needs exactly.
- Growing. As we learn more and more about the dynamics of hearing loss, we are determined to be able to offer the most modern and up to date services and products. This might mean that we ‘grow’ by adding to our portfolio of products and services, or even recruit new team members who have the same values and beliefs as I do. I personally hope that we have more growth this coming year, but, rest assured, it will be in total harmony with our current five star standards and is therefore to be embraced.
In summary
Writing this article has cemented for me the belief that my professional purpose is to continually offer the very best help, service, advice and products to anyone whose life is blighted by some level of hearing loss. My work is inspired by my nan. My work makes me very proud, as she would have been, so this is probably my very favourite part of being Steven Hale, Audiologist.
