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Ear Shop Also A Feast For The Eyes

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By JESSICA BAIR, The Suncoast News

Published: September 17, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - With a retro decor designed to appeal to the 'far out' generation, the Ear Shop wants to make a statement that this is a place 'Where the Hearin' is Happenin,'

' as the slogan goes.

Visitors to the store at 9804 Little Road are greeted with bright splashes of color and other design touches that surround the displays of hearing aids, vibrating alarm clocks, assisted listening devices, Bluetooth communications devices and custom earpieces for pilots and musicians, as well as iPods and MP3 players.

'We go way beyond hearing aids with small, high-tech communication devices that come in cool shapes and colors,' the Ear Shop's Web site states.

Managing partner Jan Eberhardt, a retired Alabama bankruptcy lawyer, says he wants to cater to a generation that's 'not averse to getting hearing aids.'

'We've had success with the baby boomer group, because they don't really care' about needing a little help with their hearing, he adds.

A licensed hearing instrument specialist, Eberhardt partnered with brother-in-law Ted Brown Jr. - an ear, nose and throat doctor in Spring Hill - two years ago after Brown began selling hearing aids from his Hernando County office.

'We wanted to make it a little more retail friendly,' Eberhardt said of opening the Ear Shop a year ago.

'Typically, people don't want a hearing aid and it takes someone or something, like their doctor, to convince them. Maybe these people need a boost to get them here.'

Besides the funky furnishings and 'the in-thing' gadgets, the Ear Shop offers free comprehensive hearing tests and technology that includes a video otoscope to look into the ear canal. Brown can view the image simultaneously on his office computer in Spring Hill to further diagnose a particular problem. A Web camera mounted on top of the monitor allows the client and the physician to discuss options.

'It's not just another medical procedure,' Eberhardt, 53, promises. 'It's a little more lively ... a normal, happier experience.'

Sleek and smaller than your grandparents' hearing aids, the Oticon Delta and Starkey Laboratories' Destiny lines the Ear Shop carries can cost upwards of $2,000. The digital hearing aids process each frequency individually to boost only those frequencies that need it.

'These open-fitting devices are all the rage,' Eberhardt said. The ear bud, which sits inside the ear, allows air and natural sound in without plugging the entire ear.
Eberhardt recently became a vendor for the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, which allows him to equip clients of a state and federally funded program with hearing devices so they may secure, regain or retain employment.

Vocational Rehabilitation helps people with impairments pursue careers, said Jeri Yopp, an administrative assistant for the program, which has three offices in Pasco County, including one inside Career Central, 4440 Grand Blvd. in New Port Richey.

'Hearing loss isn't this big, terrible thing and nothing to be embarrassed about,' Eberhardt said. 'The older you get, the more important it is, especially if it's to keep your job.'

FIND OUT MORE

For more on the Ear Shop, call (727) 819-9794 in New Port Richey or (352) 686-0532 in Spring Hill; or go online to www.earshop.biz.

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