BOARDMAN, Ohio - A new locally-owned hearing center opened up in Boardman. 

It's called "Boardman-Canfield Hearing Center" now welcoming in patients and offering services right off route 224 in the Creekside Plaza.

The center is owned by mother and son, Karen Katsaras and Rick Varner, originally from Boardman.

Katsaras is a national board-certified hearing specialist and said she wanted to bring her experience back to the Mahoning Valley to help seniors understand the impact hearing loss has on the brain.

"I hope to bring light to the seniors of our community that there's a direct link between dementia, and hearing loss," she said, "If your brain hasn't heard certain letters or certain words for many many years, eventually the brain doesn't recognize it, so it does affect our memory as we're getting older."

The Hearing Center permanently offers free hearing evaluations for those 18 and older. 

"People don't understand how detrimental it can be just to wait to get your hearing aids," she said, "If you have a hearing loss, you need them. There are 67,000,000 people in the United States alone with a hearing loss and many times, it goes untreated."

She said services offered at the new center include custom hearing aids, as well as ear protection for swimmers, and anyone working in a loud environment such as first responders or factory workers. 

Katsaras said their goal is to educate patients and make services more accessible.

"I'm hoping to make options more affordable to my patients and really take the best care possible that I can of them," she said.

For more information or to make an appointment, call the Boardman-Canfield Hearing Center at 330-333-0230 or visit their website by clicking here.