Successful hearing company has headquarters in Hawkesbury

When the television started sounding quieter than usual, you simply turned the volume up a few notches. When mumbling and whispers became a bit harder to hear, you learned to read lips. You began saying "pardon" a lot more during conversations and figured others just needed to speak up.

It wasn't you who had the problem, it was everyone else.

If this sounds familiar, then you are likely one of the more than one million adults in Canada with a hearing-related disability.

According to the Hearing Foundation of Canada, hearing loss is the fastest growing, and one of the most prevalent, chronic conditions facing Canadians today. One in seven Canadians suffer from some form of hearing loss.

Jeffrey Geigel, founder and president of Lifestyle Hearing, is passionate about hearing and ensuring everyone has access to the highest quality of care they need and deserve when it comes to diagnosing and treating a wide variety of hearing-related disabilities.

That's why Geigel launched the Lifestyle Hearing Network in October 2009. It is Canada's first nationwide hearing health care structure and aims to provide Canadians coast to coast with a consistent source of premium medical clinics devoted to audiology.

The headquarters of the nationwide operation are located in the former hydro building at 290 McGill Street. It is home to 12 employees and has been transformed from a pile of rubble into a warm and houses many of the company's important departments, including accounting and information technology.

Geigel, who is a native of Prescott-Russell, said he chose Hawkesbury as the headquarters for his company because "I really do love this place.

"I think this is a great place and there a lot of good people living and working in this community," he commented. "I was born and raised [in this area]...I am a Prescott-Russell boy through and through. It was very important to me to have my business here because I really didn't want to leave my roots. [Hawkesbury] is a perfect location. People laughed at me when I told them I was going to set up the headquarters here, but I have absolutely no regrets."

The experience Geigel gained from his years spent growing hearing companies, along with a family history of hearing loss, are what guided both he and his wife toward starting their own hearing company.

"I've been going to hearing clinics since I was four-years-old," Geigel said. "I am no stranger to hearing loss...I watched my father go through it. I had always wanted to start my own business. I was spending a lot of time away from home travelling [with my previous jobs] and finally, in 2007, my wife reminded me of our dream to start our own business. In the biggest economic downturn of the last century, I left my job as a senior executive and started Lifestyle Hearing. It was a huge leap of faith."

He said the network was created to promote Canadian clinics that are committed to yielding thorough and proficient diagnostics services related to Canadians.

"It was also created to promote clinics with the most advanced professional education, treatment counseling and clinical protocols related to hearing health care," Geigel noted. "Not all hearing health care centers in Canada are administering themselves within such a medical framework."

In less than a year, Geigel said, the Lifestyle Hearing Network went from zero to 70 locations across Canada and from zero to 100 employees. He explained that Lifestyle Hearing Network is "the umbrella company" that markets and supports independently-owned hearing clinics, as well as the ones owned by Lifestyle Hearing Network.
"We are the largest hearing care provider in Ontario," Geigel remarked. "Members of the Lifestyle Hearing Network are the finest in their field. They are the highly trained, experienced hearing healthcare professionals who live and work in the community they serve. Our members provide a wide range of care including hearing evaluations, hearing device fittings, counseling and the most advanced technology to improve patients' quality of life."

Additionally, the company recently launched Lifestyle Hearing Magazine, which is the only magazine of its kind for consumers.

"It is a bi-annual publication at the moment," Geigel said. "One of our main goals is to educate consumers and physicians about hearing loss. We encourage people to take their hearing very seriously. Get your hearing checked by one of our highly-skilled professionals. I can't stress enough how important that is."

Geigel said he was also pleased to announce that hockey legend Gordie Howe has become the official spokesperson for the Lifestyle Hearing Network and all of its members.

In a recent press release, Howe explained his association with Lifestyle by defining the network as "quality driven audiology-based clinics dedicated to their patient's needs."

"I am thrilled to have Mr. Howe on board," Geigel remarked. "His decision to join our team will really help us reach out to Canadians."

Karine Ranger is Hawkesbury's only local audiologist and she works at Helix Hearing Care Centre, located on Main Street. She said she is pleased to be part of the network and is committed to doing everything she can to educate people about hearing and hearing loss and provide them with the quality care they deserve.

"Lifestyle has a very patient-focused philosophy and offers state-of-the-art facilities and equipment," she commented. "I am very pleased to be working with a company that is so dedicated and committed to providing patients with such excellent and thorough care."