Brought to you by
ALMOND HEARING
With new state-of-the-art premises opening in Clarkston, Almond Hearing
is expanding its operations to provide comprehensive solutions for hearing problems
EXPERT care from a highly qualified team specialising in tinnitus, balance disorders and state-of-the-art aids, is only part of the successful story behind Almond Hearing.
Appropriately, the audiologists at the company’s brand new Clarkston and original Livingston clinics understand the importance of providing a ‘listening ear’.
“We do really care about our clients,” explains Susie Darroch Paterson, who runs Almond Hearing with her husband Frazer Paterson.
“The majority of the people who come to us are older, and often, if they are passing by, they will pop in for a coffee, or just to say hello.
“That’s just part of the business. It’s important to us to have that relationship with our community, to know we can be there for somebody even just a little bit – particularly when loneliness is such an issue for older people.”
The new Almond Hearing premises in Clarkston
Almond Hearing provides a comprehensive audiology service, including diagnostic hearing tests, wax removal, hearing aid assessment, noise protection and balance assessment.
“What sets us apart is our team’s clinical experience,” explains Susie. “All of our audiologists are degree-qualified and have had clinical training within the NHS. Each has a different specialism: Iain Edgar, our co-director, in tinnitus; Peter Lucas-Herald in balance disorders; and Frazer in hearing aid technology.
“In addition, because we are a small independent, someone who wants their hearing aid fixed, for example, can talk to us without having to wait, or be put through a call centre.”
Susie, who has extensive customer service experience from her previous roles as cabin crew and trainer at British Airways, adds: “It’s a much more personal approach, which we think our clients really appreciate.”
The couple opened their first clinic in 2020, just as the first Covid lockdown began.
“It was a tricky time,” admits Susie. “We had been working up to it for a long time, and luckily, as an essential service, we could stay open, albeit with certain restrictions and no government funding.” She adds, smiling: “Our second baby was born on the first day of lockdown too. So yes, there was a lot going on….”
Susie and Frazer, who have two children – five-year-old Esme, and Xander, who is three – have now opened a second clinic in Clarkston.
Business is growing, Frazer explains, as people become increasingly aware of the importance of good hearing care to health and wellbeing. “Hearing loss can have a big impact on quality of life – sometimes, people who arrive here are already starting to withdraw from social situations because of it,” he says.
“There are also robust studies which explain the benefits of hearing well and improved cognitive function.”
Attitudes to hearing aids are changing, he adds. “It has become almost ‘trendy’ to wear glasses, but there is still a stigma around hearing aids,” he says.
“Technology is helping to change that because it is so advanced. Designs are much more cosmetic, and people wear in-the-ear style headphones now, so it is perhaps less of an issue to have a similar device to improve your hearing.”
Frazer adds: “We’re really passionate about helping people solve their hearing problems, and what our clients like is that we can provide continuity of care.
“We’ll always try to ensure it’s the same clinician they see when they come in, and that’s important to an older demographic, particularly in healthcare settings.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here