HEALTH & WELLNESS
HEALTH & WELLNESS
For Joseph McDermott, the hearing healthcare industry is a family business. As a teenager, he worked for his mother, Pamela McDermott, who owns Beltone Hearing Aids and Accessories in Saint John, New Brunswick. Watching his mom in the real world help patients with hearing loss left an impression on McDermott. “So, I went to George Brown College to study hearing instrument sciences.” After finishing a three-year program in Toronto, McDermott moved back to Moncton to start his own Beltone clinic. Beltone PEI’s original owner, Dianne Lank, opened the clinic in 1978. However, when she became ill, McDermott moved to the Island to take over as owner and operator, working alongside office manager Dianne Thomson. The clinic provides a full hearing evaluation, which includes a free trial period before purchasing a hearing aid. “Clients can take them home and try them in their own environment,” says McDermott, who also takes time to coach clients on how to take care of, and properly maintain, their new hearing device.
What sets Beltone apart is their exclusive high-end line of hearing devices, coupled with their professional environment and the staff’s lively personalities. “When people come in, we treat them with respect,” says McDermott. “PEI is such a small town, business is all word of mouth.” Another service that differentiates Beltone is that the clinic accommodates house calls. “We’ll visit if someone is bedridden or in hospital,” says McDermott. He will also visit customers who may not have family to properly explain how to use their new technology. “A hearing aid today is made to be used with a smartphone, but not everyone has one, or understands how,” explains McDermott. McDermott also travels to different parts of PEI to perform hearing tests and service hearing aids. He says he’s travelled as far as Tignish to see clients. Recognizing that there is a need for hearing services, he’ll be opening a new location in Summerside this fall. “We want the whole Island to be serviced, so we’ll be offering the same care for the west end of the Island as the east,” he says.
Helping Islanders Hear
Words by Amanda Lee Photos by Evan Ceretti
40
www.pei-living.ca FALL 2019
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker