Center for Hearing and Communication

I am a longtime client of the Center for Hearing and Communication, having
been fitted for my first hearing aids decades ago when the center had a different name and location. My experience with CHC has always been so positive that I want to be sure that others are aware of the exceptional level of care I received.
Kristin Baldwin, a CHC audiologist, combined scientific expertise, a positive approach to helping me adjust to my hearing challenges, and unparalleled enthusiasm about helping me to hear.
Terrence Williams, who helped me select new hearing aids, has decades of experience helping clients find just the right devices to improve their hearing and ability to communicate. After we selected the aids, Terrence enthusiastically discussed all of the different auxiliary hearing instruments available to improve my hearing in theaters, at parties, while watching TV, and then he tailored his recommendations to my needs.
CHC provides state-​of-​the art scientific and technical experience in an environment where my unique life experiences were carefully considered. I could not be more pleased.

A wonderful resource for people who are hearing disabled. Linda Kessler teaches speech reading and is an excellent teacher.

Emotional Health and Wellness Center (Psychotherapy) @ Center for Hearing and Communication
I currently see Psychotherapist Paul Aguirre at CHC.
He is good at what he does. He is patient, understanding and compassionate. He is an excellent listener. He will make sure that you are okay, before ending a session. He will work with you to help you see your full potential, so you can achieve your goals.
He is the kind of therapist that can help you to recognize, and bring forth the strength and potential that was inside of you. My therapist has helped me in so many ways.
Great Listener
Self-​esteem/​Self-​Worth
Suicide Prevention/​Suicidal Thoughts
Helps in times of Grief
Helps in times when you feel hopeless.
NB

I have just been fitted for hearing aids at CHC by audiologist Kristin Baldwin and am writing to say what an excellent experience it has been – from the testing, to the discussion of options, and the explanation about the use and care of the aids.
I had tried hearing aids a few years ago, but was not informed by the audiologist about the importance of wearing them all day, every day, and therefore I never got used to them, didn’t find them useful, and quit wearing them. Kristin takes the time and has the experience and knowledge to anticipate what a new user needs to know and to answer questions thoroughly in person or by email.
By comparison, I am shocked by all of the things I have learned from Kristin about wearing and caring for hearing aids that were never shared with me by the former audiologist. I would now say that the experience, knowledge, and quality of the audiologist is a crucial factor in ones adjustment to hearing aids.
Mary Ann J.

Through ten and more years of experience I have found the Center for Hearing and Communication superb and superior in every regard. The audiological help and advice I get from them is informed, informative, insightful, attentive, and reassuring. Their support staff are terrific. The institution is wonderful – that there is such an institution is wonderful.

The old fashioned kindness and largesse I have uneartheed here at the Center for Hearing and Commnication has been heartening. My audiologist, Ellen LaFargue is masterful, ingenious and empathic. Her well oned professional skill and acumen is quite astounding. The extra special quality of a rare attending kindness makes a powerful difference in the context of that moment of realization of loss. Her ability to convey complicated information in a cohesive comprehensible way is impressive. Everyone associated with the Center welcomes one with their intention of purpose and it feels like a truly safe environment. I am grateful to my physician for making this recommendation and giving me access to such an institution that hardly seems to exist anymore. I am about to mount plaintive pleas to all my friends and famiiy to attend to their hearing health as my own has been inadvertently or even carelessly overlooked for years and the suffering has been overreaching. Now I have the appropriate aids and so much assistance in becoming accustomed to this whole new way of life. These people have sought to help me along the way with the complexities and concerns and I am so grateful. This is a special place.

I have used the center for two years for hearing exams and the purchase of hearing aides. My audiologist, Susan Adams, is excellent and a pleasure to deal with. However, the center administratively leaves a lot to be desired. Recently I was told the warranty on my hearing aids was expiring and I should buy an extension. After purchasing it, I then inquired it if covered replacement if lost or stolen and if I could have a written copy of the warranty.. I was told that since I had had my aids replaced once before under warranty, the new warranty would only cover repairs even though it costs as much as the full warranty. I was also not offered any details of the warranty in writing. I decided to cancel the warranty and purchase a better warranty elsewhere. I told the Center two days after the charge that I wanted a refund. After a week I’ve now been told it will take two to three weeks for a check to be sent. They will not issue a credit to my credit card. I asked for the refund within 3 days after the purchase and find waiting two to three weeks for a check to be issued unacceptable.
In the past, I have had other administrative issues with the center. They aren’t worth explaining in detail but anytime something is out of my audiologist’s direct pervue, it takes forever and is not done competently.
I am sad to write a negative review of the Center since they are a non-​profit and have a long history but their bureaucratic incompetence has affected me too many times.