Why We Do What We Do – guest post by Richard Reikowski

When we honestly ask about the “whys” in our daily lives, one might find the answers slow in arriving. Why do I eat the foods that I do? Why do I always wear these shoes? Why do I have the job that I have? Why am I reacting this way? We might find surface answers; “I eat that food because it tastes good”, but if one is truly self-aware, and they are honest, they may find “food” attached to a positive or negative memory. For example, I east this food because “Mom made this for me when I wasn’t feeling well”. Those are the true “whys” in the everyday experience.

Within our Audiology and multi-faceted practices, and to each reading this, we should constantly look at the reason we turn on the lights every morning. We know that a hearing loss, or a balance problem can cause a person to not to participate. They begin to disengage from the world around them, and ‘good enough’ is what they do to compensate for that  stress. It affects them, and it affects the people closest to them. If we saw this as an opportunity to sell a hearing aid, the “why” becomes lost because a difficult situation is being exploited. But, if the “why” is to improve their quality of life, and the treatment is  following where the evidence leads, then the “why” is truthful. The treatment then is honest, and that doesn’t always require the most expensive technology.  Sometimes no treatment is indicated. We truly should become aware of the answers to the questions that arise at our offices, through patient questions, each and every day, whether it be with regard to improving one’s hearing, helping a person to have better mobility with less vertigo and fall risk concerns, as well as to help quiet a patient’s world existing of tinnitus.

We are there to help improve a quality of life. That begins from the time you pick up the phone to call us, and continues when you walk into the office. Our responsibility to those that we serve should be moving toward positive results, and always keeping the patient and their families as a priority in that service. Keeping our eye on the “why” will always give us a reason to turn on the lights in the morning. That reason is in helping to improve quality of life.

Richard Reikowski, AuD, is a practicing audiologist and owner of Family Hearing and Balance Center, Inc. located in the Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.  He earned his doctorate from the Arizona School of Health Sciences in 2005.  He has been in private practice for over 15 years.