Listen up: Ears to You!! helps guard against hearing loss
Jane Manhart has years of experience, a positive attitude – and lousy timing.
“I opened my storefront in March,” she said with a laugh. “Hey, for three weeks I did great.”
Manhart’s office, Ears To You!!, is at 2728 West Osage, next to His n Hers Salon in Pacific.
She offers hearing evaluations and screenings, and hearing instrument sales, repair and programming.
The good news is that she has been able to sustain her business, despite COVID-19.
Manhart said she was never technically closed during the virus lockdown, and business has been starting to pick up in recent weeks. She’s taking appointments at the customer’s convenience.
“I live 10 minutes from the office,” she said. “Appointments are available seven days a week.”
Manhart stresses the value of prevention when it comes to hearing loss.
“I worked for retail operations for many years, and went out on my own in 2008 with a mobile practice,” she said. “I did mobile appointments in Jefferson, Franklin and St. Louis counties until I got busy enough to open a practice. This is a really good community, and the landlords have been helpful and supportive.”
She said the coronavirus pandemic has had little effect on her routine practices.
“I sanitize everything routinely, so that’s not anything different,” she said.
Face masks, however, can hinder communication.
“It takes getting used to,” Manhart said. “Masks make everything a little muffled, especially consonant sounds. (Clients) are often people with hearing difficulties, and they rely to a degree on lip-reading. That is really tough with a mask on.”
She offers custom hearing protection for those with noisy jobs, for example, people who use power tools or repair engines. And if loud music is part of your life, she can help with that, too.
“If you wear hearing protection now, you may not need hearing aids in the future,” Manhart said.
For information, visit the company’s website at earstoyoustl@yahoo.com or call 636-448-6760 to schedule an appointment.
