A MESSAGE WORTH HEARING

Leaves crushing, waves crashing, babies crying, choirs singing—all these things are enjoyed through hearing, one of the most invigorating human senses. In fact, humans develop this sense very early on. By about the 18th week of fetal development, a baby’s ears start to hear things like the mother’s heartbeat. By week 29, they start to hear things outside of their mother’s body such as voices, and by the time they are full-term, they have the capability of hearing at the same level as an adult.

We all come to love (and loathe) different sounds as we grow into adulthood. Aside from speech and hearing to help us communicate, our sense of sound gives us comfort. We can be easily soothed through a favorite song or the various melodies of the natural world.

To help nurture and care for our hearing so we can fully enjoy this wonderful human sense, there are businesses like Saline Audiology. The ability to hear and understand to the best of one’s ability is what the clinic strives to give all patients so they can experience the sounds of life.

Founded in 1997, Saline Audiology has two offices: one in Benton and one in Hot Springs Village. They offer a wide range of hearing health care including: • Complete hearing evaluations • Cerumen (ear wax) removal • Hearing aid evaluations and fittings with state-of-the-art hearing aids (including Bluetoothenabled hearing aids) • Otoacoustic emissions to test newborns, difficult-to-test patients and to validate results obtained in the hearing booth, if needed • Dizziness testing, including treatment for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)

The clinic also provides hearing aid cleanings and repair, and

custom hearing protection such as musician plugs, including inear monitors, and swim molds.

“Our clinic’s main purpose is to provide quality professional hearing health care for all ages, pediatric to geriatric, that is close to home,” says Audiologist Lisa Richey, who founded the clinic with Audiologist Credonna Miller.

Richey, Miller, and the rest of the staff are all from Saline County. “We love our patients and know most of them,” Richey adds. “We want to provide a wide range of hearing health care to our hometown folks.”

Hearing is essential for communication. Many patients who have hearing loss say that they hear but do not understand what is being said, Richey explains. Hearing-impaired people may smile and nod without really knowing what was said.

“Being able to hear your grandchildren, birds singing, and hearing others and participating in conversation is so important,” Richey says. “Many times, people start becoming introverted when they can’t hear. They choose to stay home rather than participating in social events.”

Tools such as hearing aids do so much more than help people gain back their sense of hearing. These tools help them resume normal activities and participation in social gatherings. “They are able to participate in conversations again,” Richey says.

Miller shares that there have been many occasions when she has put hearing aids on a very hearingimpaired patient for the first time and “they literally cry.” “It can be a very emotional, happy time to be able to hear. It’s like they didn’t realize what they were missing. They are so grateful. I have one patient who had that initial reaction over 20 years ago and still calls me her hero every time she comes in.”

Early intervention is essential where hearing loss is concerned, Richey notes. As such, Saline Audiology participates in the state infant hearing screening program. If a baby fails a newborn hearing screening, the clinic is set up to test those infants. “Our state has an excellent infant hearing program. We don’t want to miss any newborn baby that has hearing loss. Being able to hear is so very important in the development of speech and language skills.”

Miller adds that being able to hear also helps develop social skills. “The earlier a hearing-impaired child can get identified and fitted with hearing aids and start speech therapy, the more successful that child will be educationally and socially.”

Observing how speech therapists work is what sparked Miller’s interest in audiology. She was a

Being able to hear your grandchildren, birds singing, and hearing others and participating in conversation is so important

Caring When it Matters Most.

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young mother of two, in college and substitute teaching for the public schools. “I got really interested in the work the speech pathologists were doing, so I went back to college to study speech path’ and then fell in love with the audiology field.”

Richey became interested in the hearing-impaired world after attending church camp as a youth and observing the deaf interpreters. While in college, she took her first audiology class, “and it became very clear that God wanted me to be an audiologist. I love my job.”

Richey and Miller went to high school together, were in graduate school together, and worked together for years before deciding to start their own hometown business. They have been at it now for 24 years and counting.

The staff is like one big family, Richey says. “We all have jobs that make our clinic run like a welloiled machine. Saline Audiology is a great place to work, and we want every patient who walks through our doors to have an amazing experience.”  Jillian Jacuzzi

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Colette Collatt describes herself as competitive. Mix in a thirst for knowledge, a nose for fragrances, and a determination to succeed, and you have the story that is Salt Soap Co.

Step inside her store in Downtown Benton at 111 W. South Street and you will experience a treat for all your senses, especially your sense of smell. Soaps and other products with fragrances ranging from honeysuckle to espresso are there for the sniffing. If you are looking for a specific fragrance, just ask Colette.

For example, “Anytime a customer is looking for something to relax them, our first recommendation is obviously lavender. After that I’d definitely suggest chamomile.”

For those with sensitive skin, Colette can help there as well. “We have a specialty soap table with products that are specially formulated for specific skin conditions such as eczema, acne, feminine hygiene, and sensitive skin. Each of them is comparable in popularity, but if I had to choose the customers’ favorite, I’d definitely have to say the charcoal facial bar: very popular, and we have seen the results ourselves. It’s amazing what a natural soap with zero synthetic additives, and only using what nature gives you, can do for you.”

The products at Salt Soap Co. are popular with women, but men like them as well. “Our top three women’s soap fragrances are definitely Cashmere, Salt Signature, & Honeysuckle. The top three men’s favorites are Kentucky Bourbon, Antique Sandalwood, & Narcissist.”

Opening her own business is a dream come true for Colette, one that became reality a few years ago.

“We opened Salt Soap in March of 2019 on a whim, actually,” recalls Colette. “I had taken a hiatus from working at the time because my parents were getting older and sickly. I needed to be attentive to them. During that time, I began reading about cold process soap. After about a month, I felt I was invested so I should try my hand at it myself. I did and it was terrible.”

But that didn’t stop her. “I’m a competitive person, so I was back at it determined to make this soap that intrigued me so much. After the second go, it was a success, and I continued knocking out soap loaf after soap loaf until my entire formal dining room was filled with soaps. Cold process soap takes 4-6 weeks to cure, meaning it has to sit and rest to let some of the liquid evaporate to make it a harder, longer lasting bar. Therefore I had loaves of soap curing throughout my home. I decided to try and sell it at a local flea market, and it did well. Most of my adult life, I’ve always wanted to open a store in our charming downtown area, and luckily one day a spot opened up. I rushed down with big dreams and a little apprehension whether I could pull it off. I landed the perfect spot and the rest is history.”

Taking the leap with Colette was the store’s general manager, Haley Ziemski. “Haley, whom I call Hal, is the girlfriend of my oldest son, Keaton Collatt. Hal was around the house throughout high school. She’d end up in the soap room questioning me and wanting to get her hands dirty, so I taught her. She was a quick learner, and was addicted just like I was. When we decided to open up shop, Hal was a huge part of it and is still bringing fresh ideas and knocking out products every day.”

Colette says there is a lot of science involved in soap making. “Honestly, making soap is a lot of chemistry. It’s somewhat like baking and cooking. You must have a knowledge of the oils and their properties as well as whether you’d like to use essential oils only, fragrances, or both. The key to being a good soap maker is simply knowledge. The more you read recipes and learn oils, fragrances, additives, and textures & techniques of the soaps, the better and more fluid soaper you’ll be. Whenever we get a new fragrance in, Hal & I both try to get dibs on it, because whoever gets their hands on it first gets to design that