Jan Hankerson, owner

Bayside Audiology

429 S.E. Marlin Drive

Warrenton

503-861-3235

Need a hearing aid? Need to know if you need a hearing aid? Jan Hankerson is one of the few audiologists in the region, a profession that assesses hearing, balance and related disorders. Bayside Audiology is open from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Friday.

What do you do?

Im an audiologist, which means I have a masters degree in hearing science and nonmedical remediation of hearing loss, as well as diagnostic testing for hearing loss. I do hearing aid dispensing, as well as counseling for things such as noise-induced hearing losses. I do screening for industrial; I do newborn screening follow-ups. I dabble in many areas of audiology. I kind of think of myself as a triage, I guess, because of the work placement. Im kind of the touch point as to whether someones hearing loss is so that they need to be seen by a specialist, or if its something thats not medically correctable.

How did you get started doing this?

I got my degree in audiology in 1978, and Ive been working in the field since. I started at the University of North Dakota, and finished at Idaho State University. My first job in the field was in Werner, Minn., and I did whats called a clinical fellowship there, where you work under someone whos already been certified through the national certification agency, that at that time was the American Speech and Hearing Association. And I do hold that credential as well as am a founding member of the American Academy of Audiology. I went from there to running a clinic at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich., for three years. (I) came out to Oregon hoping to find work and piecemeal several jobs to be able to stay here until I was able to purchase this place and take it out as a private practice in 1993. Before 1993, this was a department of the hospital at Columbia Memorial. Prior to that, it was then Seaside General Hospital. And I worked in those two positions, running it as a department of the hospital for about seven years before purchasing it and taking it out as a private practice.

What is the volume of your business?

Ive started doing a lot of business for the VA (Veterans Administration), which has really changed my numbers. Im doing a lot more hearing aid fitting than I had been prior to that. I would say prior to that, the business was probably 60-40, 60 (percent) on the service element, maybe 60 to 70 percent on the service element.

How does the economy affect your business?

I assumed we would be affected more by the economy more than we were with the economic downturn in this area. I think that probably has to do with the fact that we do so much business with the medical community. That doesnt change. Were not necessarily seeing people for hearing aids, in that case. Were seeing them for many reasons, some of which have nothing to do with hearing aids. Those services are covered by insurances, and therefore arent as affected, I think, as they would be if that werent the case.