Dr. Joyce Chen鈥檚 patients from will have an opportunity to wish her a happy retirement at an open house Oct. 3.

And they鈥檒l have a chance to meet Janelle Balkwill, who is excited and inspired to follow in .

鈥淪he is just amazing and she has such an awesome reputation,鈥� Balkwill said.

鈥淪he鈥檚 created a really awesome atmosphere at Okanagan Hearing. She鈥檚 always provided compassionate and caring service, and she has great relationships with her patients. And that鈥檚 my goal too,鈥� she said.

It鈥檚 important for patients to trust their practitioners, and Balkwill 鈥� like Dr. Chen 鈥� understands that patients are looking for proper care. If patients come away feeling like they鈥檝e just visited a hearing aid store, they haven鈥檛 been properly cared for.

Okanagan Hearing Centre offers the full scope of audiology 鈥� , custom hearing protection, hearing aids, and more. And Balkwill is also one of only two or three audiologists in the Okanagan who are trained to offer (TRT), a technique to manage the effects of persistent ringing in the ears.

鈥淎 lot of patients are told, even by their doctors, that nothing can be done about their tinnitus,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut TRT has been available for 30 years, and there鈥檚 evidence-based outcomes showing that people really benefit from it.鈥�

Most important, Balkwill says, is knowing all of her patients well enough to offer them the right care.

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have relationships with the patients and really care about their hearing,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e meet their families and talk about their grandkids. We even get to know the names of their dogs!鈥�

Balkwill has already met many of Dr. Chen鈥檚 patients, and she鈥檚 excited to meet more at Thursday鈥檚 鈥淥de to Joyce鈥� open house at the Okanagan Hearing Centre from 1 to 3 p.m.

鈥淚 know a lot of people want to congratulate Joyce on all her years of service. We鈥檒l have some refreshments and snacks, and all her patients can come in and say goodbye to her, and then meet me if they haven鈥檛 already.鈥�

Because she shares Dr. Chen鈥檚 attitude and approach to patient care, Balkwill is absolutely confident she will love her new role.

鈥淪he鈥檚 an amazing person and yes, I鈥檝e got some big shoes to fill,鈥� she says.

鈥淏ut I鈥檓 happy to take that on.鈥�

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Learn more about Okanagan Hearing Centre at or call 778-484-7237.