Name: Sonya Veenstra
Location: Hearing Instrument Specialist at ListenUP! Canada in Woodstock, ON
“The most satisfying aspect of my job is knowing that I am putting my best efforts forward to help each and every client succeed. I support them with their hearing needs and empower them to be the best “them” that they can be!”
Sonya Veenstra finds her career as a Hearing Instrument Specialist to be rewarding, though it wasn’t her first career choice.
“I have a few previous careers in my life,” says Sonya. “This one sort of came by accident but has been one of my greatest accomplishments.
Sonya first worked at the front desk of a hearing clinic as a Client Service Administrator. After being encouraged by a former employer to pursue a hearing healthcare career, Sonya attended Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton as a mature student in their two-year Hearing Aid Practitioner program and graduated with honours.
“My former employer was an instrumental part of getting me to move into the clinical role I am in now,” adds Sonya. “I enjoyed being on the front lines, watching and supporting people as they gained success with their hearing aids, but I also wanted to be an instrumental part of that process. I got my accreditation I’ve never looked back and I’ll always be grateful to my former employer and his wife for believing in me. I feel grateful to have a job I enjoy!”
Now, not only does Sonya play an instrumental role in helping clients hear well again through her occupation, she also helps clients who cannot afford hearing aids receive the healthcare they need through the National Campaign for Better Hearing which awards hearing aids to those who need them but can’t afford them.
“The Campaign for Better Hearing has added such a positive dimension to my profession. “Adriana, my Client Service Administrator, and I have had the privilege of providing hearing aids to two recipients and have witnessed firsthand their life changing experiences with the gift of hearing aids.”
Sonya has been in the hearing healthcare field for 16 years as a Client Service Administrator and then as a Hearing Instrument Specialist, but she has many roles outside of the office too.
“I am a wife of over 28 years, a mother of four adult daughters, (and their significant others,) and a Nana to three grandchildren, (with one on the way),” says Sonya. “All of them claim the largest part of my life.”
And did you know? Sonya and her husband have been playing music for over 20 years! This musical duo has sung jazz music at a local, upper scale restaurant, at weddings, at Ontario youth conferences and at their local church. They are also part of a recording studio company and have organized concert music festivals.
Sonya wears many hats, with hearing healthcare being one of the most rewarding. Her contributions to the industry as well as the Campaign for Better Hearing are certainly appreciated by many.
Are you ready to start your journey to better hearing? If you are a Canadian over the age of 18 who may have hearing loss, book a free hearing test with us today!
