Watertown Audiologist Dr. Todd Decker w/ Professional Hearing Marks 40 Years
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - As Professional Hearing Services celebrates its landmark 40th anniversary of serving Northeast South Dakota this month, lead audiologist Dr. Todd Decker is using the milestone to share an urgent message with the community: hearing health is fundamentally brain health.
In a recent broadcast interview with Steve Jurrens on Northeast Radio SD, Dr. Decker reflected on his 33-year career in audiology and the evolving science of hearing care. What began as an undergraduate curiosity—sparked by a desire to understand the experiences of a close friend who was deaf—grew into a lifelong mission to protect what he calls humanity's primary "connection sense."
"When you begin to lose your hearing, you lose your connection with your family, your job, and your ability to engage socially," Dr. Decker explained. "Our competitor isn't other clinics or over-the-counter devices. Our competitor is hearing loss itself, and we know the profound detriment it has on a person's overall quality of life."
The Stark Reality of Untreated Hearing Loss
According to national data cited by Dr. Decker, between 28 and 30 million Americans currently navigate hearing challenges, yet a staggering 75% of those individuals do not seek help. Even more concerning to audiologists is the timeline of delay: on average, a person waits seven years from the initial onset of a hearing problem before walking into a clinic for an exam.
Modern medical research reveals that this multi-year delay carries a steep cognitive price.
"We are finding a massive link between a lack of auditory stimulation and cognitive decline or dementia," Dr. Decker warned. "The data shows that even a mild, untreated hearing loss triples your risk of developing dementia. A moderate loss multiplies that risk by five, and a severe hearing loss increases the risk seven-fold."
Dr. Decker explained that when the auditory pathway connecting the brainstem to the brain's hearing center goes unstimulated for years, it progressively deteriorates. Once those neural pathways degrade to a certain point, standard hearing aids can no longer fully restore word comprehension—a frustrating phenomenon where a patient can hear that someone is speaking, but the sound mimics a muffled, indistinguishable murmur.
Why the Medical Model Matters
Addressing a modern landscape filled with over-the-counter (OTC) devices and big-box retail alternatives, Dr. Decker emphasized the critical difference of an audiologist-led medical model.
"Over-the-counter devices can act like 'cheater' reading glasses to help you get by initially, but they treat hearing like a retail commodity rather than healthcare," said Dr. Decker. "Our first job as audiologists is a medical assessment. We frequently uncover underlying medical conditions causing the deficit that require specialized physician referrals. Skipping that step to buy a quick fix online can be genuinely detrimental to a patient."
Furthermore, Professional Hearing Services utilizes specialized "Speech-in-Noise" diagnostics and real-ear verification, placing microscopic microphones inside the ear canal to measure exactly how sound waves interact with an individual’s unique anatomy. This precision allows the clinical team to program a highly customized, gradual adjustment prescription over a three-to-six-month trial period, ensuring the brain safely readapts to sound without being overwhelmed.
A Community Legacy and Global Impact
From its foundational roots established by original founder Eve Hensler in 1986, the practice has grown under Dr. Decker's ownership since 2000 to expand operations across Watertown, Milbank, and Brookings. The clinic has also prioritized filling a critical regional gap as the leading provider of pediatric audiology in northeastern South Dakota, assessing children within 24 hours of birth.
The clinic’s mission extends far beyond state borders. Through their partnership with Entheos and the non-profit organization Hearing the Call, Dr. Decker and his wife, Julianne, frequently self-fund humanitarian trips to provide critical hearing care to underserved populations worldwide. During a recent mission to Peru, Dr. Decker witnessed firsthand the vast global disparity in care, noting that the country operates with just 25 audiologists for a population of 25 million people—compared to his regional practice which features four providers for a population area of roughly 23,000.
40th Anniversary Celebration Announced
To thank the regional community for four decades of trust, Professional Hearing Services is hosting a public, community-wide celebration.
· When: Thursday, July 30, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
· Where: The Life Song Event Center (located directly behind the Professional Hearing Services clinic on North Highway 81, Watertown)
· Details: The event is free to the public and will feature complimentary pulled pork sandwiches, refreshments, and raffle drawings.
Dr. Decker encourages anyone over the age of 40 to schedule a baseline hearing assessment, which is typically covered by most major insurance providers.
"If we all give back a little, we build a stronger village," he said. "We are incredibly humbled to look back at the thousands of lives we've had the opportunity to touch over the last 40 years, and we look forward to the next generation of care."
For more information, to review educational resources, or to schedule a baseline exam, visit www.2ears.com or locate the clinic on Facebook at Professional Hearing Services.
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