Suzanne Yoder (MA ’02, AuD ’04) has lived with severe hearing loss since childhood. Her personal journey—from using different hearing aids, learning to lip-read, asking people to repeat themselves, searching for coping skills and finally receiving cochlear implants in both ears—has made her a more compassionate audiologist.
She is in tune with the unique needs of her patients. And committed to delivering best practices and the highest standard of care at her private practice, HearWell Center in Pittsburgh.
“Coming into the field, I was keenly aware that patients were sometimes rushed through their appointments,” recalls Yoder. “They didn’t always get the education they needed up front. As a result, they may not truly understand their hearing loss, or what they should expect from their hearing devices. It can result in a lot of frustration.”
Because of this, Yoder strives to build a strong patient provider relationship that starts on day one. “You might say we ‘front-load’ patient visits,” says Yoder. “We schedule longer first appointments so we can get to know each other, what our patients’ expectations are, and how we can work together to create a plan that allows patients to feel at ease.”
“Patients are involved in the entire process, from the first appointment and testing through to the end of their warranty with their hearing aids and even beyond that,” explains Lauren Swatzler (MA ’21, AuD ’23), audiologist, HearWell Center. “This kind of personalized, friendly care is why we have patients who have been with the practice for a decade or longer, and why they refer new patients to us.”
For the first 16 years of her professional career, Yoder intentionally kept her practice small. “I always disclosed my hearing disorder to patients, but it was a challenge to completely understand the needs of patients and to keep up with the tasks of running the business,” she says.
In 2018 and 2019, cochlear implant surgery changed her hearing. And her practice.
“As soon as I felt I was functioning at a nearly normal level of hearing, I knew I was ready to expand my practice,” says Yoder. “It’s something I always dreamed of doing. We went from a one-room sole provider office to our new state-of-the-art facility, with multiple audiologists and expanded services for our patients.”
In addition to hearing diagnostics, education and counseling, HearWell Center now offers treatment and support for tinnitus, and is one of the few private practices that collaborates with cochlear implant surgeons at the Eye and Ear Institute, UPMC.
As a trained cochlear implant audiologist, Yoder works with patients who experience limited help from hearing aids. She is qualified to test patients for cochlear implant candidacy, and then program, activate and finetune their cochlear implants.
Current AuD student Matthew Goodrich (BA ’22) works as an assistant at HearWell Center. He admires Yoder’s patient-centered approach. “The lengths that Dr. Yoder goes to in order to advocate for her patients is unlike anything I’ve seen from other health care providers,” notes Goodrich. She will often spend several hours looking over tricky cases for patients to ensure that every concern of theirs is met.”
Swatzler agrees. “She is one of the most thorough audiologists I have ever encountered.”
But Yoder’s commitment to the profession goes beyond caring for patients. For more than 10 years, she has supervised Pitt audiology students during their clinical rotations, and has served as a guest lecturer to students in the Practice Management course on multiple occasions.
“I truly enjoy bringing the students into my practice,” says Yoder. “They challenge me and teach me as much as I teach them!”
She recalls one student who was particularly interested in pediatric patients. “Although I don’t treat a lot of children, I was very interested in learning more about it and so together, we gained valuable new knowledge.”
“Dr. Yoder’s willingness to reach outside of her comfort zone to support patients is something that I have been trying to emulate in my own clinical placements,” observes Goodrich. “If she does not have an immediate answer to a question, she is comfortable admitting it, but then puts in the extra effort to learn more about a patient’s condition or hobby.”
“She always wants to make sure a patient feels heard and cared for,” he continues.
“We are very fortunate to have Suzanne as a teacher and model for our AuD students,” says Elaine Mormer, AuD professor and vice chair for Clinical Education. “She is an outstanding model of a successful private practice audiologist and is an asset to our AuD program on both professional and personal levels.”
