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Rebecca Penney sees her work as more than just a career. She changes lives.
"I like helping people," said Penney, who bought Baker Hearing Aids in Macon 15 years ago.
"This is really a happy job," said Penney, whose office features ear diagrams displayed on the wall and her desk. "I can take someone who has a problem and improve their quality of life."
Getting a hearing aid can be a stressful experience for some, but Penney's "easygoing manner" helped Macon resident Chris Radley during his initial appointment in early December.
Radley, an engineer, said Penney tested his hearing, explained the results and helped him secure his hearing aid before Christmas.
"When I go out walking in the woods, I can hear the birds singing for the first time. Sounds that I was oblivious to, I am now hearing," he said. "It was a good experience."
Customers and experiences like that of Radley affirm for Penney that she's found her calling.
It was in 1989 when, after working in a bank, stock brokerage firm and petroleum company, the University of Georgia business graduate decided to buy a hearing aid business.
She learned that Baker Hearing Aids founding owner Edna Baker was selling the business to retire. It proved to be a plum for Penney.
"I've always had an interest in the medical field," Penney said. Although she majored in business, Penney said Baker Hearing Aids was an excellent opportunity for her to mesh both.
In her profession, there is a "little bit of electronics, computer science, business and human anatomy," Penney said.
Penney, 46, dove in. Two years into the venture, she obtained certification from the National Board for Certification Hearing Instrument Sciences. This was what she wanted to do.
The most challenging part of her job is not being able to help someone hear as well as she would like. She said she wished people would have hearing exams as regularly as they do eye exams.
"People respond better to amplification the sooner they get hearing help," Penney said.
If a person has gone many years with a hearing problem, Penney said, it can be a major adjustment when they start hearing sounds they had not heard before. At first, it can be a distraction, she said.
Penney said of her 1,500 Middle Georgia customers, a majority of them visit her office after being urged by friends and relatives.
Isabelle Malone, 86, of Macon, said an inherited hearing problem first introduced her to Baker Hearing Aids 35 years ago. She remembers when Edna Baker owned the business and it was located on First Street, before it moved to Riverside Drive.
Malone said Penney built upon Baker's good rapport with customers, and good service is what has kept her going back.
"It's wonderful. I think she is a wonderful person," Malone said.
Malone, who has lost hearing in both ears, used to wear the traditional analog hearing aid. When she began considering the move to the new digital ones, she sought Penney's guidance.
"She doesn't push her customers. She's a caring person," Malone said. "And, she works with you."
Malone said Penney recommended the digital hearing aid, explaining that the device automatically adjusts its volume depending on intensity of sound waves. That way, amplification is more natural.
"I couldn't believe it," Malone said. "Like when hearing my preacher in church, I could sit in the back of the church and hear everything he said."
Malone said Penney has her customers at heart.
"She wants the best possible hearing that I can have," she said.
By Delawese Fulton, Macon Telegraph
"I like helping people," said Penney, who bought Baker Hearing Aids in Macon 15 years ago.
"This is really a happy job," said Penney, whose office features ear diagrams displayed on the wall and her desk. "I can take someone who has a problem and improve their quality of life."
Getting a hearing aid can be a stressful experience for some, but Penney's "easygoing manner" helped Macon resident Chris Radley during his initial appointment in early December.
Radley, an engineer, said Penney tested his hearing, explained the results and helped him secure his hearing aid before Christmas.
"When I go out walking in the woods, I can hear the birds singing for the first time. Sounds that I was oblivious to, I am now hearing," he said. "It was a good experience."
Customers and experiences like that of Radley affirm for Penney that she's found her calling.
It was in 1989 when, after working in a bank, stock brokerage firm and petroleum company, the University of Georgia business graduate decided to buy a hearing aid business.
She learned that Baker Hearing Aids founding owner Edna Baker was selling the business to retire. It proved to be a plum for Penney.
"I've always had an interest in the medical field," Penney said. Although she majored in business, Penney said Baker Hearing Aids was an excellent opportunity for her to mesh both.
In her profession, there is a "little bit of electronics, computer science, business and human anatomy," Penney said.
Penney, 46, dove in. Two years into the venture, she obtained certification from the National Board for Certification Hearing Instrument Sciences. This was what she wanted to do.
The most challenging part of her job is not being able to help someone hear as well as she would like. She said she wished people would have hearing exams as regularly as they do eye exams.
"People respond better to amplification the sooner they get hearing help," Penney said.
If a person has gone many years with a hearing problem, Penney said, it can be a major adjustment when they start hearing sounds they had not heard before. At first, it can be a distraction, she said.
Penney said of her 1,500 Middle Georgia customers, a majority of them visit her office after being urged by friends and relatives.
Isabelle Malone, 86, of Macon, said an inherited hearing problem first introduced her to Baker Hearing Aids 35 years ago. She remembers when Edna Baker owned the business and it was located on First Street, before it moved to Riverside Drive.
Malone said Penney built upon Baker's good rapport with customers, and good service is what has kept her going back.
"It's wonderful. I think she is a wonderful person," Malone said.
Malone, who has lost hearing in both ears, used to wear the traditional analog hearing aid. When she began considering the move to the new digital ones, she sought Penney's guidance.
"She doesn't push her customers. She's a caring person," Malone said. "And, she works with you."
Malone said Penney recommended the digital hearing aid, explaining that the device automatically adjusts its volume depending on intensity of sound waves. That way, amplification is more natural.
"I couldn't believe it," Malone said. "Like when hearing my preacher in church, I could sit in the back of the church and hear everything he said."
Malone said Penney has her customers at heart.
"She wants the best possible hearing that I can have," she said.
By Delawese Fulton, Macon Telegraph