LA GRANDE — A Baker City resident received a special Christmas present from a La Grande business.

Audiology & Hearing Aid Associates serves three counties in Northeast Oregon, and each December it selects one person as the recipient of new hearing aids through an annual benefit program called “Hear for the Holidays.”

“It’s been an absolute favorite event for our team, and we look forward to doing this every year,” Erika Shakespeare, audiologist and owner of Audiology & Hearing Aid Associates, said.

Baker City’s Dixie Sutton, nominated by her husband, Robert, was the 2023 winner. She was fitted with the new ReSound Nexia hearing aids on Dec. 22 and it was a big improvement for her.

“It’s amazing how much clearer things are,” Sutton said. “There are certain sounds I can hear now that I hadn’t heard in a while.”

Sutton has been an AHAA patient since 2014. At the time, she was working as a paraprofessional with the Baker School District, and she was having difficulty hearing the tiny voices of the children she worked with, so she went to AHAA and was fitted with one hearing aid.

Now, Sutton is retired, and her hearing loss has increased. The single hearing aid she had aged out, and it could no longer be repaired.

“So, Dixie was really in need of two new hearing aids,” Shakespeare said.

Sutton said the AHAA team was there to see her be fitted for the hearing aids, and they were all so happy, as she can hear sounds around her now that were once diminished or muted. She can even hear the different nuances of birds tweeting and singing.

“This is a blessing to have two new hearing aids,” she said. “I needed them, but I didn’t know how else I would swing that financially.”

Sutton said the technology Shakespeare uses at her clinic is impressive.

“Her program can read what the hearing aids are doing and adjust them on a computer,” Sutton said. “Erika and her staff are really amazing.”

Shakespeare started the “Hear for the Holidays” program four years ago as a way to give back to the community. The program provides new hearing aids and a five-year service treatment plan to the recipient.

Helping people hear

Shakespeare fits all brands of hearing aids except those that are proprietary such as Miracle Ear, Beltone and Costco. She is trained in fitting and servicing all the major manufacturers of hearing aids like ReSound, Phonak, Starkey, Signia and others. Financial aid is available through a third party.

“We work with the Northwest Access fund that will set up low-interest loans for patients, and they will work directly with the patient to set up a payment plan that works for them,” Shakespeare said.

The AHAA does work with the Lions Club to provide charitable care year-round, and AHAA houses the Lions hearing aid bank for Eastern Oregon counties, when there is an audiologist or hearing practice that is going to be fitting hearing aids for the Lions Club.

Shakespeare received her undergraduate degree in speech pathology and audiology at the University of Nevada in Reno in 1998, and she earned her master’s degree in audiology from Idaho State University in Pocatello in 2001. She did her residency in Portland from 2001 to 2002.

After her residency was finished, she worked in private practice in ear, nose and throat clinics in Portland. Then for about a year she worked for a couple ear, nose and throat doctors in Twin Falls, Idaho, followed by 17 years at Idaho Elks Hearing and Balance Center in Boise as its audiology program manager. In 2006, she also started working part time at the private practice of Mike Sturmak in La Grande.

Shakespeare bought Sturmak’s practice in 2016 when he retired, and she moved the practice to its present location at 1404 Fourth St. and opened for business at the end of 2018. The business now serves Baker, Union and Wallowa counties.

“We’re the only audiologist that provides services in the area. We travel to Baker once a week and then Wallowa twice a month,” she said.

With her background as a pediatric audiologist for years, Shakespeare is equipped to serve patients of all ages. She welcomes all who have hearing issues to call and make an appointment to see her.

The Audiology & Hearing Aid Associates clinic in La Grande is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached at 541-612-7555. The staff travels to Baker City to see patients at 3175 Pocahontas on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and to Enterprise to see patients at Wallowa Memorial Hospital, 120 S. River, twice a month on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.