Jeff Bayliff

LOCK HAVEN — Hear the Birds Hearing Aid Center, 306 N. Grove St., Lock Haven, continues to experience significant growth.

“We have had a great year since the last ‘Progress’ edition of the Express last March. Almost everyone I meet wants to know how our State College location is doing,” owner Jeff Bayliff said.

“There were some last-minute glitches that pushed our opening back to July 1, 2023, but since then things have gone remarkably well!”

Readers may remember last year at this time Jeff announced that Boyd Smith, of State College, and he had entered a partnership to open the State College location.

“Boyd named that practice, “HearingSmith,” combining the word hearing with his last name Smith, like a black smith. He even utilizes an anvil in his logo,” Jeff said.

HearingSmith is located at Ferguson Square, Suite 6, 2790 West College Ave. in State College. The phone number there is 814-780-2103. You can see Jeff and Boyd’s practice in State College online at www.HearingSmith.com.

Jeff continues to maintain a very busy schedule here in Lock Haven, seeing 12-14 people a day. “I have always been by appointment only, people still walk in but it is rare that I don’t have to grab the calendar and schedule them to come back… which is a very good problem to have,” He reminds readers.

Jeff said it was humorous recently when a man asked if he was still so awfully busy?

“I gently corrected him and said that is gloriously busy, not awfully busy,” he said.

Jeff has always been humbled by his success, but repeated this week, “I truly give God the glory for how he has increased this business. I have never set sales goals. I have always tried to treat each patient like family and allowed God to do what He wants with the commerce end of things. After 13 years and a humble part time beginning on a card table in the corner of my wife’s salon, I am told that I am one of the busiest hearing aid centers in all Central Pennsylvania. That is God’s doing.”

A look at the reviews for Jeff at www.hearthebirds.com shows that patients feel Jeff is certainly doing his part to maintain low prices and excellent customer service to cooperate with what Jeff feels is mostly God’s blessing.

When asked about what is next for Hear the Birds Hearing Aid Center Jeff said, “On a lighthearted note, it is trying to get folks to remember the name of my clinic. Somehow it has gotten shortened to simply “Hear the Birds.” I am frequently reminding my advertisers that phrase does not clarify what I do. I test hearing and sell hearing aids. Hearing the birds hopefully is the end result but not the name of the business. On a serious note, early this year my wife and I went through a contemplation about buying my own building.

“We looked at several good options and one had me ready to buy. After our third visit to the location, Tanya and I spent considerable time weighing the pros and cons. It was financially feasible, but she asked me if, at 68 years old, I wanted the added stress of owning a commercial property and keeping track of commercial tenants. She reminded me I have an almost stress-free life, walking only eight minutes to work and back, locking the office door and being done for the day. At the end of that weekend, I decided I did not need a building and am at perfect peace I made the right decision.”

Jeff was asked if any other locations are in mind for the region.

“I am always pondering and praying about what and if where to do something more in the region, but for now it is a wait on the Lord and see process,” he said. “I was looking very seriously at the Altoona area and had been talking to a good friend, Josh Strickland, about opening a store there in a couple of years. He decided to jump out into his own business at the beginning of this year. Though Josh’s location is not formally part of our business we refer to him, Boyd, and I as part of the “Central Pennsylvania Alliance for Lower Hearing Aid Prices!”

If you have relatives or friends in Altoona, Blair County, or even all the way down to Cumberland, Md., Jeff has Josh Strickland’s permission to publish his contact information. Josh, Boyd and Strickland all reciprocate links to each others’ businesses on their websites.

Josh Strickland’s hearing aid business is Increase Hearing, 2927 Beale Ave., E 105, Altoona, PA 16601. The phone number is 814-799-0028. The website is increasehearing.com

Jeff wants readers to know that Boyd, Josh and he still have the lowest prices in the region for top digital hearing aid technology.

Hear the Birds Hearing Aid Center is at 306 N. Grove St. in Lock Haven. Jeff phone number is 570-748-5444. Service is by appointment only.