Hearing health, awareness, and communication has always been important to Charlene. “In my extended family, we have a few cousins who communicate using American Sign Language,” she explains. “This helped lead to my interest in hearing and communication and eventually audiology. Family gatherings could be challenging, so it was wonderful after graduate school to be able to utilize my knowledge and communicate effectively with family members.”

Providing patient-centered care is extremely important to Charlene. “As a provider, you are there to help a person understand their current medical diagnoses. As an audiologist, it is our job to provide knowledge, care and support to patients so that they leave their appointment feeling confident about what was discussed. I try to make my patients feel as comfortable as possible, as I know that benefits their care.”

Charlene says that one of the biggest challenges she faces is lack of knowledge about the variety of assistive listening devices available and realistic expectations from patients. “No device can totally return someone’s hearing to normal, but there are lot of ways people can enjoy better hearing through technology. Hearing aids work best when people realize their limitations.”

When she is not busy helping patients at Reliant, Charlene enjoy spending time with her husband and son doing outdoor activities such as bike riding, playing basketball, football, tennis and soccer. Charlene also enjoys watching football, especially her favorite team the Patriots.