Palo Alto Hearing Aid Center

Barbara and Melanie are a terrific team — they went well beyond my expectations!
First, a little background: I am a first-​time hearing aid user. After receiving my diagnosis from the PAMF audiology department in Dec ’15, it was clear that I needed to see an audiologist. I gave PAMF a try, but it seemed they had too many patients — a month or more to schedule an initial app’t, then another month to schedule a fitting… and in selecting a product, they could not even show me samples to compare sizes etc. After visiting a hearing aid forum, I learned about the Palo Alto Hearing Aid Center.
I was thrilled to be able to book my first appointment with Barbara within a few days, and I learned a lot from her — based on what was important to me, she helped me select the right product. I was able to evaluate two different products in her office during my first appointment, and I left with fully working devices to try out. A few days later I had my second appointment to replace the loaners with my own, and to get sized for custom ear molds. This past week I returned to receive my custom ear molds and some fine-​tuning of the features. All of this transpired over just 3 weeks… and before any payments were made!
I am an extremely satisfied customer! The key areas where my expectations were blown away by Barabara and Melanie: Ease of scheduling appointments. Attention to my specific needs, spending the time needed to get it right, and never feeling rushed. Product availability on hand to evaluate side-​by-​side without lengthy delays. Quick (same day) email responses to questions. Very professional and friendly demeanor, comfortable environment.

I have been wearing all kinds of hearing aids since I was five years old. I have used the services of several audiologists and hearing aid specialists over the span of 30 years.
When I moved to Palo Alto a few years ago and was in need of new hearing aids, I visited several hearing aid centers in the area. I was disappointed by their aggressive sales approach. They barely allowed me to say two words about what I needed. Without even testing my hearing, they sat me down and talked on and on about the latest technology that would surely work wonders for me. I felt extremely pressured to buy hearing aids on the spot, which made me feel quite uncomfortable. I couldn’t get out of their offices fast enough.
I did more online research and stumbled upon great reviews for the Palo Alto Hearing Aid Center. The reviews could not have done this practice enough justice. I instantly felt at ease around Barbara. She asked me questions about my lifestyle, habits and past experience with hearing aids. She took the time to get to know me, and she’s a great listener. She then tested my hearing and, based on the results, recommended different kinds of hearing aids and gave her opinion on what she believed was best for my needs. Never once did I feel pressured to spend any money there. After discussing my options with my husband, I went back to get some molds done for new hearing aids.
Barbara improved my quality of life, and my husband, family, friends, and co-​workers are forever grateful as well. I could hear sounds I had not before, allowing me to appreciate music in a whole new light. I could follow the office chatter and participate in conversations. The TV at home no longer had to be blaring loud, and my husband’s ears finally got a break. I could even hear better than everyone else at noisy restaurants, because my hearing aids were smart enough to pick up speech sounds over noise. My husband repeatedly tells me and anyone who would listen that every dollar spent on these hearing aids were well-​worth it.
Three years later, I am still ever so pleased with my hearing aids. Unlike at other centers that would be pressuring me to buy new hearing aids now, Barbara assures me that my hearing aids still have several more years in them and that any new technology is not necessarily an added benefit to me.
The service at the Palo Alto Hearing Aid Center is top-​notch. Any time I had issues with my hearing aids, Melanie would schedule me in ASAP to get it addressed. The turn-​around on getting the hearing aids back is remarkably fast, and Barbara would provide me with loaner hearing aids so that I didn’t have to go without for a few days.
I actually look forward to my office visits with Barbara, which are relaxed yet productive. There was never an issue that couldn’t be addressed to suit my needs perfectly. I hope Barbara is around for a very long time to come, because genuine people like her who care are hard to come by.

I’ve been a client of Palo Alto Hearing Aid Center for several years now. When I first discovered Barbara and her Center, I was very impressed with how she handled my hearing test and the whole process of attending to my hearing issues. She worked hard with me to reach her single goal of finding a solution that I was thrilled with. And that’s what happened. My Phonac Hearing Aids work wonderfully. Further, Barbara has continued to give me continuing excellent service. Whenever I have needed any kind of service with my aids, I have always been able to get in to see Barbara quickly and the outcome is always perfect.
Not long after I began my relationship with Palo Alto Hearing Center, I referred two of my friends to go see Barbara. They both are now ongoing clients, and both of them have, in turn, sent others to see her. Having a chain of referrals like this is clearly an indicator of how satisfied every client of Barbara becomes. In fact, it’s now become a saying among my circle of friends. When anyone says anything about a hearing problem, the automatic response is, «Go see Barbara». I give Barbara and her Center my highest recommendation.

Barbara Williams is the most caring and competent provider of hearing aids, and evaluator of hearing health, in at least Northern California, but maybe the whole United States. If you need a hearing aid, or wonder if you do, go and see her. She takes all the time necessary to help you choose the right hearing aid for you. She even let me borrow various brands to try at home to see how they worked for me. She genuinely cared about me and she will genuinely care about you too.

Barbara Williams is patient, caring, and thorough. She is genuinely committed and will spend as much time as is needed to make sure her client is happy. I’m sure most of her clients are seniors, as is my mom, and it blows me away how respectful she is as she goes through the process, step by step. Hearing loss can be frustrating and frightening, yet her compassionate and gentle demeaner seems to bring out the best in her clients; and they probably realize that she is instrumental in helping them get their lives back. Finally, hearing aids are not cheap, and that’s why my mom appreciates it when Barbara takes the time to explain the options and which are most cost-​effective. It’s obvious that Barbara cares more about her clients than about a profit.

Wow, what an amazing find … thank you Unilocal!
The most important thing first: if you are looking for help with a hearing aid, you can stop your search. Just go here.
My mother was another PAMF casualty, where she got a quick hearing test and the bum’s rush with some pre-​printed literature and a 5-​minute consult with an aide. We were so upset because her resulting decision was that she didn’t need any hearing aids. I convinced her to give it one more try with a private practitioner, and then found Barbara Williams on Unilocal.
It was like night and day. Barbara is so caring about her patients. She re-​did the hearing test, and sure enough, it had been done incorrectly yielding some obviously inconsistent results. She takes all the time she needs, and always welcomes our family members in on the process. She is obviously very bright and keeps up with developments in her field, and she made a recommendation for my mother that was perfect. My mother has been wearing these devices for a few weeks now and is incredibly pleased with the results.
Barbara’s high level of care has remained that way after the initial fitting. It is somewhat rare to find, but it’s clear that she is really interested in how things are working and is helping with small adjustments to address every little issue.
I will warn you about one thing … you may need to wait a bit sometimes for your appointment. However, we’ve found that in every case, it is always because a previous patient needs a little extra time. So it’s nice to know that the same thing applies when we are the patient!

My dad was visiting from out of town and obviously needed help with his current hearing aids. On 2 hour notice, Barbara took our appointment and fully tested my dad. His current aids were obviously out of service and we were given a custom fitted pair to try at no cost for the weekend.
What a great full service professional in this age of nameless large firms. Can’t recommend highly enough …

Highly recommended. I took my dad there — he’s been a hearing aid user for about 8 years. Barbara was extremely professional in evaluating the setup of his current device and recommending better adaptation for his hearing loss. He uses a Phonak Audéo device and she clearly understood how to make better use of that to improve the quality of his hearing — the right programming, the right receiver etc. He’s very happy with the service. And hearing better.

OMG! I can’t say enough good things about Barbara! My Mother loves her hearing aids
At 88 years old she loves to go to her appointments and is wearing them everyday. Barbara worked a miracle with her! 5 stars are not enough!!!

I first checked out my HMO for hearing aids but felt I was being rushed into a decision. I found quite the opposite at the Palo Alto Hearing Aid Center. Barbara spends all the time required to get to know someone (and his/​her situation and hearing needs) quite well.
After getting hearing aids, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of follow-​up as the adjustment process is a gradual one. Barbara saw me weekly for five weeks as I became more acclimated to the hearing aids – and I feel welcome to go back anytime for further help.
To me, Barbara is the epitome of patient-​centered service and caring. I couldn’t be more pleased with her combination of complete professionalism and sympathetic care.

I have been wearing hearing aids for about 20 Years. Since my natural hearing has continued to degrade, I have gone through a series of new and improved devices fitted by different specialists. I never felt that enough time was spent to get the devices to work and feel exactly right. Now I have found Barbara Williams of the Palo Alto Hearing Aid Center, and I need look no further. Besides her patience during interviews, she uses the latest technology to achieve, at least for me, perfect results. (I can’I remember a time when I was hearing this well!) Of course, I strongly recommend her and trust her.

I was amazed at how easy the owner, Barbara Williams, made it for me to hear. After years of straining to hear what others were saying, she helped me discovery that I could afford hearing aids; that I could hear others clearly and without straining. I am forever grateful to Ms. Williams for her expertise and excellent service.