Meet Hearing Instrument Specialist Paul Barry

I often get asked how I ended up becoming a hearing care provider. Well, as a young child my mother said I always wanted to be a … fireman. That didn’t work out for me, however, I do have two nephews who are firefighters that I can live vicariously through.

After college, I began my career in sales and sales management for several large corporations. Eventually, I landed with a manufacturer of pathology equipment and spent my days in hospital laboratories discussing the merits of a particular tissue processing machine; or in a purchasing agent’s office who was trying to reduce the cost of microscope slides. Those days turned into weeks and months and years.

At the same time, my wife Maureen and I were raising four children. As our family grew through those same years and the kids were learning how to be responsible adults, I had a chance meeting with someone from the “hearing” industry who thought I’d make a great provider. I asked to observe one of his offices the very next day and I was hooked. I saw a woman come into the office to get her hearing aids for the first time and was able to witness the joy of mom being able to hear again, and her daughter thrilled that mom wouldn’t have to struggle. It was powerful.

I thought about pathology supplies and while they are important, how much of a difference was I really making if a lab manager could squeeze a few more “widgets” into a budget? It wasn’t long before I was an apprentice Hearing Instrument Specialist.

I became licensed in MA and RI, dispensing hearing aids for large national companies. I earned my Board Certification. As a regional manager for a multi-clinic New England based practice, I also became licensed in NH and ME. My job involved managing the difficult fittings in each office and making sure people heard the best they could.