Sharing the delight of hearing

Having an impact

The joy that Teresa Wenhart finds in sound energizes her work as an Audiological Engineer in our Hearing Instruments business. For Teresa, sound is music. Teresa plays the cello, and divides her time between developing our audiological technology and performing. Sound quality is especially important to Teresa as a musician, and that passion motivates her research into ways to upgrade the performance of our range of hearing solutions for customers. “I want to improve how people experience sound,” she says.

For audiological professionals like Naeem Randera and Sarah Downing, sharing the delight of hearing is one of the most fulfilling parts of their job. Audiology is frequently a personal calling, and Naeem knew he wanted to help others after supporting his father through progressive hearing loss from otosclerosis. “When a customer says, ‘I can hear my grandkids now’, knowing you’ve made that happen is a great feeling,” says Naeem, who works for the Boots Hearingcare brand in the UK.

Sarah has spent her whole career being captivated by what hearing technology can do, a passion she passes on to the teams she leads as Vice President of Global Marketing for our Advanced Bionics brand, whose cochlear implants treat the most severe forms of hearing loss. Her desire to help burns as bright as ever. Sarah says, “I thought it would never get old watching someone hear again, or for the first time, and I was right!”

Bringing purpose to work

Hearing healthcare is more than a job for Sonova USA President Sandy Brandmeier. “Anyone I meet who is not addressing their hearing loss, I just can’t help myself from speaking up,” she says. Sandy went as far as wearing hearing aids herself to persuade her father to come around to the idea. For Sandy, seeing the joy her father finds in everyday sounds brings home the purpose of our work. “I want to do something that matters,” she reflects. “Here, we don’t think of it in terms of how many hearing aids we ship out the door, we think about the lives those hearing aids will change.”

Keeping the customer in mind is just as important to Guillermo Salcedo, the leader of our new operations facility in Mexicali, Mexico, where Advanced Bionics and Hearing Instruments products are made in two separate operation centers. After training as an industrial engineer, Guillermo made a conscious choice to work in health technology. He finds it rewarding to be part of an industry where the products have a positive impact on people’s lives. Guillermo makes sure every new joiner in Mexicali watches customer experience videos on their first day on the job so they appreciate the outcome of their work. “It brings us closer to the customer knowing that a person will use what we make here,” he says. Working at Sonova has taught Guillermo a lot about hearing health. When he goes clay shooting with friends, he’s the one recommending hearing protection.

It was the opportunity to do meaningful work that attracted Violey Xie to Sonova as well. She says, “The vision of our company really resonates with me.” As the Human Resources partner for Sonova in China, Violey interacts with colleagues rather than customers but like Guillermo, she has a clear understanding of how her team contributes to the delight of hearing. By improving employee engagement, Violey and her colleagues know they are helping to provide a better hearing experience for customers.

Experiencing a world of sounds

Music is a big part of KianAnn’s life too. KianAnn always has his Sennheiser True Wireless earbuds with him, and his affinity with the customers of our Consumer Hearing business means he’s especially invested in his work as a project manager. KianAnn drives the development of new products from drawing board to commercial launch. Market-leading innovation is never easy. KianAnn says staying focused on the purpose behind the product helps maintain resolve through the ups and downs of the journey. Seeing another product take off in the market is always an emotional moment for KianAnn: “It’s like watching my children grow up.”

While some love to get lost in sound, for others it’s about being taken somewhere else. Teresa is fascinated by the connection between sound, health and wellbeing. She speaks from the heart when she says, “Music has this ability to transport us out of our daily lives into an emotional world of sounds.” From the low notes to the high notes, and everything in between, we’re proud to be able to help so many people enjoy all the delights of hearing.