Healing Hearing
At Live Better Hearing + Balance, audiologists such as Dr. Victoria Buck connect patients with the comprehensive care they need to return to living their best lives.
Victoria Buck, Au.D., had long considered a career in medicine, but she didn’t discover her true calling until a chance encounter with a course in college focused on the field of audiology.
“It checked all the boxes for me,” says Dr. Buck. “It’s very medical forward, but also focuses on patient care.”
Dr. Buck is an audiologist in the Bala Cynwyd office of Live Better Hearing + Balance. She appreciates the fact that every day presents opportunities to help people from all walks of life contend with hearing loss, which she characterizes as “a journey.”
“Whereas vision loss is more tangible, hearing loss is more of a slow burn,” she says, “because hearing is a major sense that people don’t realize they’ve started losing. Guiding people in the right direction, and having that personal touch, I think is the biggest factor to me.”
Dr. Buck’s own life informs the empathetic and personalized level of care she delivers to each patient. Her fiancé has hearing loss, which brings a level of understanding she shares with patients.
“I can personally relate,” she says, joking, “When wives drag their husbands in, I tell them, ‘I can make him hear, but I can’t make him pay attention.’ I feel like an audiologist by day and marriage counselor by evening.”
In all seriousness, Dr. Buck enjoys helping patients’ partners or family members better understand how to live with someone who has hearing loss; she emphasizes the importance of face-to-face communication. She adds, “Closed captioning is a lifesaver, too.”
Finding Her Place
Dr. Buck joined Live Better Hearing + Balance about a year ago after working at another practice. She has been thrilled with the company’s distinctive culture.
Dr. Buck joined Live Better Hearing + Balance about a year ago after working at another practice. She has been thrilled with the company’s distinctive culture.
“One of my friends from graduate school also works for our practice and had nothing but the best things to say about it,” Dr. Buck says. “Our practice is run by a husband and wife, both of whom are audiologists, and that to me was the biggest appeal. After working with people who were not audiologists before, it’s nice to work with people who get it on [a higher level].
“It was such an ‘aha’ moment for me, because the practice is very ‘families helping families,’ which I absolutely love,” she continues. “It’s the whole reason I got into health care.”
Not only does she practice in Bala Cynwyd, but she lives nearby—so close that she can often ride her bike to work.
“I’ve become the neighborhood audiologist,” she says. “It’s nice to see people in the neighborhood who I work with.”
Her emphasis on relationship-building is reflected in the time she spends with each patient.
“Another big reason I jumped at the chance to work at Live Better is their whole philosophy on being personable,” she says. “Unlike other hearing-aid clinics or ‘big box’ stores, if I need more time with a patient, I have the autonomy to do so.
“I get to ask how the cruise in Alaska was, how the grandkids are, and I think there is something comforting about getting to have those conversations,” she continues. “I want to help my patients through everything with hearing loss. Hearing loss can cause a lot of problems, not just anatomically but socially. It means a lot just having the time to sit down and talk, and it’s nice to have the support of Live Better to do that.”
In addition to offering treatment for those with hearing loss, Live Better Hearing + Balance works with individuals who suffer from balance issues. One unique feature is vestibular testing, which entails patients sitting in a specially designed chair that can help Dr. Buck plot treatment for those with conditions such as dizziness and vertigo.
“What I’m able to do is pinpoint where a deficit is coming from and either perform maneuvers to help alleviate that dizziness or refer them to a local physical therapist,” she says. “Dizziness can be really scary. One of the things that drew me to Live Better is that it’s not just about hearing aids but addressing the entire organ of hearing.”
A Growing Practice
From humble beginnings as a family-run practice launched by Drs. Ross and Jenifer Cushing in Montgomery Village, Maryland, in 2007, Live Better Hearing + Balance has grown to include 26 locations in multiple states, including two other Philadelphia-area offices, in Warminster and Lansdale.
From humble beginnings as a family-run practice launched by Drs. Ross and Jenifer Cushing in Montgomery Village, Maryland, in 2007, Live Better Hearing + Balance has grown to include 26 locations in multiple states, including two other Philadelphia-area offices, in Warminster and Lansdale.
Dr. Buck describes the Bala Cynwyd office as “the perfect size,” noting she sees eight to 12 patients a day. Her schedule leaves room for the personalized care of every patient.
“The office is tucked in a neighborhood, and we have a parking lot which is fantastic,” she says. “It has a clinical feel, yes, but not like that of an industrial or hospital space. There’s a sense of homeyness, and a lot of warmth.”
As the field of audiology continues to evolve, Dr. Buck and her colleagues stay abreast of the latest innovations. She takes great effort to research and pursue continuing education, to ensure that she connects patients with the best and most appropriate means of treatment to suit their unique needs. For example, developments in high-frequency hearing recovery and speech clarity via cutting-edge processing chips continue to change the field for the better.
“There’s no better feeling in the world,” she shares, “than when you prescribe a set of hearing aids and a patient comes back a week later and tells me all the things they can hear again—birds, their family at the dinner table, jokes about turning the TV down—especially when people get emotional about it. When all those sounds are reintroduced, people say, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe what I’ve been missing.’
“The sensation of being able to give that back to somebody is what keeps me so happy in this field and why I love it so much,” she continues. “It’s extremely rewarding.”
For more information about Live Better Hearing + Balance, including the locations and contact information for its offices in Bala Cynwyd, Lansdale, and Warminster, call (484) 469-8120 or visit livebetterhearing.com.
Photo by Nina Lea Photography
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, August 2024.
