By MaryAnn Kromer, mkromer@advertiser-tribune.com
The Tuesday open house and ribbon cutting for Ohio Hearing Professionals was a family affair for audiologist Andrea Young. In addition to clients and the Tifin Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Club, her mother and grandmother were on hand as she publicly took ownership of the business.
"I've been in this office for almost five years. It was Amplifon before Ohio Hearing Professionals," Young said.
She explained the former owner of the clinic at Walmart also owned clinics for another hearing aid company. The second company declared the former owner could only focus on one brand or the other. Amplifon lost out. He had planned to close the Tiffin clinic, but Young did not want her clients to be without service.
"This store could not be changed because of franchise rights and things like that. So I made him an offer to stay here, because we've always done so well here," she said. "We have over 2,000 people we've already seen in here. I didn't want them to have to go somewhere other than where I've always seen them. I purchased it April 27."
A Hopewell-Loudon graduate, Young earned a business management degree at Owens Community College and then studied for two years to obtain an Ohio license for hearing aid fitting and dispensing. She started working for Amplifon at the Findlay and Port Clinton offices before being assigned to Tiffin. The Port Clinton site was closed, so Young referred many of those customers to Tiffin.
"We give free hearing tests. The last count we had was about 3,500. For hearing aid clients, we have about 500," Young said.
Also staying on is receptionist Barbara Munro, whom Young calls her "patient care coordinator." Munro has been at the Tiffin location for two years.
"It's been busy, so far. We've always done really well here. We've been in the top three in Ohio for the past four years," Young said.
