Heather accidentally fell into audiology while in college when she took a class on speech and hearing systems. She realized how much hearing loss was affecting her friends and family and was frustrated that she knew nothing about it until that class. Heather’s goal is to spread awareness of hearing loss, and more importantly, how to prevent it.

Heather recently finished four years as an active-duty military audiologist. Her four years in the Army taught her the importance of hearing in critical situations and the need to have good communication strategies, which is also important in the civilian sector. Her military experience also taught her how to talk about tinnitus, the number one disability among veterans. Heather enjoys showing patients their test results and validating their experiences with hearing loss. When a patient comes in with a certain experience such as, “I know when someone is talking to me, but I can’t make out some of the words” or “I hear fine in quiet, but not when I’m at a restaurant”, Heather enjoys being able to tell them exactly why that might be happening to them.

Heather likes living in Portland because of the variety of restaurants in town and being able to try all sorts of cuisine within a few miles of her home. Outside of work, she enjoys taking her Boxer to dog parks and recreating the delicious dishes she tries in town in her own home.