The Ledger

By Becky Holland

HAWKINSVILLE — For Karen Smith, helping someone hear better is about much more than a device.

It is about helping people reconnect with conversations, family members and the sounds of everyday life.

Smith, owner of Bay Area Hearing Care Professionals in Hawkinsville, has spent more than 30 years in the hearing care profession. Originally from Cordele, she has built a career around something she considers a blessing — helping people.

“I love people,” Smith said.

That simple statement is at the heart of the way she approaches her work.

Smith is personable and welcoming, but there is also a wealth of professional experience behind the easy conversation. She is board certified and has worked in hearing care for decades, gaining experience in both Georgia and Florida and continuing to learn as the profession and technology have changed.

Smith still maintains her hearing care office in Florida and divides her time between that practice and Bay Area Hearing Care Professionals in Hawkinsville.

Her decision to establish roots in Hawkinsville was also a personal one.

Originally from Cordele, Smith purchased a farm in the Hawkinsville area, a location that puts her between her own roots in Cordele and her husband’s roots in Perry.

Hawkinsville also became the right place to expand the work she has devoted much of her life to doing.

For Smith, continuing education matters.

“There’s always room to grow,” she said. “There’s always room to learn.”

Bay Area Hearing Care Professionals provides hearing testing, hearing aids and personalized hearing care. Smith said one of the most important parts of the process is making sure each person receives care suited to his or her individual hearing needs.

That distinction has become increasingly important with over-the-counter hearing devices now readily available.

While an over-the-counter product may simply make sounds louder, professionally fitted prescription hearing aids can be adjusted according to a person’s particular hearing loss. Testing, fitting and follow-up care allow the hearing professional to address the individual rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

And for Smith, that personal relationship does not end once someone receives a hearing aid.

Patients return for follow-up visits, adjustments and continued care — sometimes year after year. Those relationships are one of the things Smith enjoys most about the profession.

She also understands that hearing loss can affect far more than the person experiencing it. Difficulty hearing can make conversations frustrating and may cause someone to withdraw from family gatherings, church, community activities and other parts of everyday life.

Helping a patient hear better can, in turn, help that person stay connected.

That combination of professional knowledge and personal attention is what Smith hopes patients find when they walk through the doors of Bay Area Hearing Care Professionals.

After more than three decades in the profession, she is still learning, still serving and still doing what brought her to hearing care in the first place — working with people.

Bay Area Hearing Care Professionals offers hearing tests, hearing aids and personalized hearing care at its Hawkinsville office.

For more information or to schedule a personalized consultation, call (478) 317-8613.

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT is a feature of The Ledger highlighting local businesses and the people behind them.