As a bank teller in Kelowna, Natasha helps hundreds of clients a week with their banking transactions. She also has hearing loss in both ears.

“This affects my ability to understand what clients and co-workers need. It is a very loud and distracting environment with a lot of background noise,” Natasha shares. “People speaking in different tones, or with accents, or over the phone can be challenging to comprehend.”

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Heather Ritchie, AuD, RAUD, RHIP, Aud(C)

Director of Audiology

Heather obtained her Doctorate in Audiology from the A.T. Still University’s School of Health Sciences following her Master of Science in Audiology from the University of British Columbia’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. As a dually certified Audiologist and Hearing Instrument Practitioner, she is licensed to practice audiology and perform hearing aid fittings under the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of British Columbia (CSHBC). Heather has an advanced certificate in Cerumen Management and has undergone specialized training in Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST) under the guidance of Drs. Pawel and Margaret Jastreboff.

She closely follows the newest developments in hearing research and leverages cutting-edge technology in evidence-based solutions to enhance her clients’ communication abilities. Recognizing that each person’s journey to better hearing is unique, Heather takes great care in developing personalized strategies that are tailored to her clients’ specific needs. She finds it deeply rewarding to observe the transformative impact that hearing health can have on her clients’ quality of life. 

Heather serves as the Director of Private Practice Audiology on the Speech and Hearing BC (SHBC) Provincial Council. She is a clinically certified member of Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC), as well as an active member of the Canadian Academy of Audiologists (CAA).

Visit Heather Ritchie’s profile page on LinkedIn.

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Thomas has dealt with hearing loss for over 20 years. As a geoscientist for much of that time, his hearing loss didn’t significantly affect his work.

“I often worked in remote locations and interacted with just a handful of people,” he says.

After losing that position due to a layoff, however, he found new jobs in first aid and security, and found it much harder to get by.

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Zhi, of Vancouver, has worked at a bakery for nearly 20 years. He does a little bit of everything, from packaging to preparing the dough to applying icing to cakes, even stepping in to do delivery across the Lower Mainland when required.

He’s a dependable hard worker who likes his workplace, having “made a lot of friends along the way.” He’s also been diagnosed with hearing loss in both ears.

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Theresa is a kitchen designer and office manager for a small cabinet shop in Langley.

“I work very closely with our customers from the first time they enter our showroom through to installation and deficiency completion,” she explains.

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Mehrnoush is a bookkeeper based in Pitt Meadows. Her work involves a lot of time at a desk and on the computer.

She has cerebral palsy.

“It slows down my movements,” she explains. “For example, I use only two of my fingers while typing. In my workplace, I can’t be as active as other people. I also have back and shoulder pain while working for a long period of time.”

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Thanks to new hearing aids purchased through WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, Emerita, of Vancouver, is feeling more confident than ever in her job search.

“I feel confident being able to hear properly!” she shares. “[I have] better hearing capability for job interviews.”

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Christine works at a daycare in Kelowna. Her job involves a lot of communicating and listening.

“My duties include communicating with the children’s parents, and my co-workers and supervisors. Answering phone calls, administering first aid if necessary and interacting with the children,” she shares. “I am severely hearing impaired and require two hearing aids to be able to fulfill my duties at work.”

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Roxy needed new hearing aids.

“My old hearing aids were not functioning at a high enough level for me, resulting in the need for people I work with and serve to repeat themselves constantly. This led to frustration and lack of productivity,” she admits.

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Good nutrition is a significant but often overlooked aspect of health, and studies have shown that healthy eating has a significant impact on an individuals physical and mental well-being. In fact, the study linked above asserts that “…nutrition services and programmes for children and adults can act as entry points to address and, in some cases, avoid or mitigate disability”. Of course, the challenge is, when physical or learning disabilities affect an individual’s independence, it becomes that much harder to maintain good nutrition and stay in good physical and mental health.

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