Ten years ago (as I write this, I am stunned to realize it has been an entire decade) in April of 2012, I started researching how to write a business plan. I had a vision of bringing my professional skills local to the Town of Littleton where I reside as I saw a need for quality hearing healthcare services in this area. Easy access to audiology care in the local community became a passion of mine as I interviewed colleagues who were successful private practice owners. Up until that point, for my entire professional career, I had always been an employee of large hospital systems. The effects of the downturn of the economy on healthcare at that time started to become apparent. That year, decisions were being made by administrators that I felt weren’t always in the best interest of my beloved patients. In my mind’s eye, I envisioned something better that would put the needs of people with hearing loss at the forefront so that they could have easy access to quality audiology hearing health care. Pen to paper took the dream in my head and made it concrete. Today, we have a successful, woman-owned small business in the Town of Littleton which has served nearly 3000 people to date, helping to improve lives through better hearing. HearSmart Audiology is not only a local business in the community that diagnoses and treats hearing loss with hearing aids and cochlear implant map optimization services for all ages of the population, but we also have created jobs over the past 10 years and have been a coveted residential site for doctoral level graduate students of audiology. HearSmart Audiology was a launching pad for several successful audiologists over the years as we continue to supervise future audiologists that come from programs across the country to work here in Littleton for their final year of training. HearSmart Audiology is a place where relationships are built, and patients often feel like family. Over 48 million Americans suffer hearing loss. Hearing loss is the number 1 modifiable risk factor for preventing dementia (through proper diagnosis and treatment). Untreated hearing loss causes communication breakdowns, impacts relationships, causes isolation and correlates with depression and anxiety. If you or a loved one suffers from difficulty hearing, you no longer need to struggle! Hearing isn’t meant to take a lot of effort- it should be easy, and we can help. Please give us a call: 978-952-2500 and schedule a visit to HearSmart Audiology.