A word from the founder

If you’ve ever been to one of my centers, you’ve probably seen it: Geluck’s Cat comics in my waiting rooms. This is no accident. There’s a story behind it.

I was 13 years old. It was summer at Walibi, a beautiful day of fun with my friends… and my glasses fell off and broke. I’d paid for them myself. I went home alone, went into the big green store where I’d bought them and was refused a warranty. Instead, I was offered a weld, nothing else. I’m forced to accept… I leave with a patched-up frame, a cracked lens and a heavy heart.

As I pass a small store, a man stops me: Monsieur Peeters, an independent optician in Rue Marie-Christine, Laeken. “Where are you going, little man?” I tell him. He lets me in. “Sit down here, I’ll take a look.

He comes back: “For your current glasses, there’s not much I can do… But try this.”

Black frame, round lenses, Harry Potter style. “Come back next week.”

I go back. He hands me the box: same glasses… with lenses to suit me. “But Mr. Peeters… I don’t have any money.”

“That’s okay, little man. You can pay me back when you grow up.”

I never left his side as long as I lived in Brussels. His store: the creaky parquet floor, the little sofa, a few frames, and drawings of Geluck’s Cat everywhere. There, I understood what a true professional was: not to sell at any price, but first to fulfill his mission: to help patients see better – and the first thing I saw again was my smile in the mirror.

When I became an audiologist, I made myself a promise: to work like Mr. Peeters.

I often tell my patients: “My job is not to sell you hearing aids. My job is to help you hear better.

In concrete terms, we sit down and talk. We test, adjust and retest. We don’t perform miracles: we simply demonstrate precision and patience. Sometimes I say “not just yet”; I’d rather lose a sale than miss an adaptation.

If you’re looking for a sales pitch, you’ve come to the wrong place. But if you want a clear, demanding and simple relationship, the door is open. Come as you are, with your problems, your doubts, your expectations. We’ll sort them out together.

And when you come out, I’d like you to be able to say, “It’s been a long time since I heard that laugh.”