Renaissance Hearing Center opens new Bemidji location on Fifth Street NW

Renaissance Hearing Center has settled into 702 Fifth Street NW in Bemidji, where Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors recently welcomed the clinic to its new location. The move puts Paul and Sarah Harkness’s business in a more visible part of the city and gives local patients another place to seek hearing care without leaving Bemidji.

For older adults, that matters. The National Institute on Aging says about one-third of older adults have hearing loss, and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders says about 13% of Americans age 12 and older have hearing loss in both ears, with rates rising sharply as people get older. In a city where many residents balance work, caregiving and long drives for appointments, a hearing center on Fifth Street NW can make audiology care easier to reach and easier to fit into a daily routine.

The new location also lands in a community that is still growing as a regional service center. Bemidji’s population was 14,574 in the 2020 Census and an estimated 15,770 on July 1, 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Beltrami County grew from 46,228 in the 2020 Census to an estimated 47,055 in July 2025. That larger base of residents includes people who may already be living with untreated hearing loss, a condition that can affect work, family communication and everyday safety.

The Chamber welcome signals more than a ceremonial stop. It places Renaissance Hearing Center in the middle of the local business map at a time when access to health-related services carries practical weight for Bemidji and the surrounding county. For patients who have put off hearing treatment, the new Fifth Street NW site adds another nearby option in a city that continues to serve as one of Beltrami County’s main hubs for care and commerce.