Florence Hearing Health Care Welcomes Dr. Christine Kelley

FLORENCE — Florence Hearing Health Care (FHHC), a private audiology clinic serving Western Mass. and beyond, announced that Dr. Christine Kelley has joined the team.

Kelley earned her doctoral degree in audiology from Washington University in St. Louis. As a student in 2009, she was one of a handful of students picked to be a presenter at the student research forum at the annual convention of the American Academy of Audiology. She completed her fourth year at New York Eye and Ear in New York City. She holds a certificate of clinical competence from the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Assoc.

Kelley knew she wanted to be an audiologist after volunteering at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech during her time at UMass Amherst as an undergraduate student in the communications disorders department. She saw firsthand how hearing loss and hearing aids directly impact peoples’ lives and was inspired to help others hear their world and communicate with friends and family.

She also knows what it is like to live with someone with hearing loss as her husband has had hearing loss since birth and worn hearing aids since childhood. The experience of sharing a life with someone with hearing loss gives her a unique perspective of understanding the everyday struggles that can occur when someone has a hearing loss and how it affects their family as well.

“Dr. Kelley comes to Florence Hearing with more than 14 years of clinical audiology experience in addition to her personal experience living with a spouse with hearing loss,” said Dr. Jennifer Sowards, audiologist and founder of Florence Hearing Health Care. “With that combination, she brings both clinical expertise and empathy to her work with our patients. We are happy that she has chosen to join our team.”

Kelley added that “I am excited to be a part of a practice that works collaboratively to provide top-notch hearing healthcare. Part of the reason I wanted to join Florence Hearing is their commitment to employee well-being as part of their Florence Hearing promise. I’m looking forward to meeting many more members of our community on their hearing healthcare journey.”