Center For Better Hearing Aids

I walked in to the Center for Better Hearing Aids after they didn’t get back to my inquiry via email. They apologized and I got an appointment right away. I was looking for in-​ear plugs to wear at the car races while attached to a radio. Here’s how it all worked out in conjunction with my dealings with Planet Headset:
After ordering all the headset components I called my health insurance company. They said they could make custom ear plugs for $ 210 ($ 80 non-​ported right ear, $ 130 ported left ear). It sounded like a lot so I dropped in on a local hearing aid company, The Center for Better Hearing Aids in El Cerrito, CA. They gave me an appointment that very afternoon and took molds of my ears for $ 160 ($ 80/​ear). It does turn out that my ears are freakishly clean (I even got to see inside because the otoscope was connected to a computer screen) and I did not need to have my ears cleaned in any way. A little disappointing! I decided to get «flesh tone» plugs. The company they go through is Westone. The one on my right ear is solid and the one in my left ear (my preferred ear for phone conversations) has a port in it for the headset, which plugs right in. The plugs came in sooner than expected and came with instructions for insertion and cleaning and nice bags to keep them safely inside. After my first wearing I realized there would be times when I needed both ears plugged, as I was occasionally not on a headset. I was able to get four little plugs to seal the left earplug’s port for no charge from The Center for Better Hearing Aids, who asked Westone for them. The entire process was speedy and professional, even though they’d never had anyone come in looking for plugs like mine before, and Westone was very helpful to them throughout the process. They work great at the track. The only time the plugs weren’t sufficient was when I was out on the pit wall with historic Formula 1 cars going past… But far better than the pain I would have been in with nothing in my ears! I also was in a situation sometimes when I had to wear a second headset over the others. Aside from my own confusion on what speaking device I should be pushing at which time, the headset from Planet Headset still worked great!
Next wearing I’d decided to cut the coiled cord coming out of the earpiece a little shorter, as it kept getting tangled in my hair even though it was tied back. I was accustomed to nylon or metal barbed connections and ended up breaking the little camlock tube insert, but ended up being able to order replacements from you. Oddly, I was able to just use Scotch tape in the meantime and it worked just fine.
I haven’t gotten accustomed to the clip attached to the unidirectional PTT mic yet. I kind of wish it wasn’t there so it could dangle freely (and smaller-​sized) from my sleeve, but I also just got a wrist lanyard to try that out with the mic next race season.
I hugely appreciate all the time you spent with me in working everything out! It’s great to be able to be comfortable with a headset for once!!!

Everything about this place is tops! Suzanne and Josh are personable, efficient, and superbly skilled. Staff is high-​level in every area. The product has always worked fine for me, and it’s nice to know that all service after installation (including routine cleaning every six months) is absolutely free. I’ve been to other hearing aid providers; they don’t compare.

I recently got a set of LINX2 ReSound hearing aids from the Center for Better Hearing. This is a new kind of hearing aid that connects to my iPhone via Bluetooth.
After limping along for years with a single aid in my left ear, the hearing experience I’m having now is truly incredible. The amount of sound and audio information I’m gathering from my environment is almost hallucinatory in its vividness. And the crispness of the sound means I’m no longer straining to hear in business meetings, which was causing me a lot of anxiety. Put that together with streaming podcasts and music straight to my aids, and this is quite the brave new world for hearing-​impaired peeps.
The folks at Center for Better Hearing are friendly and knowledgeable. (I first met them a couple of years ago when they fixed my old hearing aid for free.) There’s a lot of fine-​tuning and questions involved in getting the most out of my new ReSounds, and they are very helpful in guiding me through this process.

Very personable and honest approach to what they can do to help hearing problems. I had a consultation with Josh Brown and he was frank about what could be and could not be done to improve my hearing given the current technology. He suggested a company that could improve the frequencies I hear. This is advice I have never received from Kaiser which is my regular provider. If you have tried other centers and have had mixed results, I suggest trying the Center for Better Hearing Aids at the El Cerrito Plaza.

Easily the best hearing aid center in the bay area. I have been to three hearing aid centers in the bay area in the last year. Greg at the Center for Better Hearing Aids was head and shoulders above the other two. The others were like the dark ages compared to the Center. The Center’s equipment was much, much newer and their office bright, not dingy.
Greg was very personable and answered all my questions. I was with him until 7pm. His hearing test was more extensive than the other two places. He was more knowledgeable and sold multiple brands of hearing aids. The other two places offered only one brand per office. This office is also open on Saturdays. The trial period is longer than the other two places.

Moved here in lovely Albany from Manhattan due to my career promotion, I have a life-​long severe hearing impairment and needed a solid reasonable hearing aid (HA) service provider to continue my hearing needs for many years ahead. Through here, I was impressed with reviews and decided to try Center For Better Hearing Aids.
Arrived at their office, a very nice front desk lady received me, photocopied my latest audiogram for their record keeping, and suggested I take a seat in the lobby. A younger gentleman then approach with no introduction and asked what I needed. In turn, I stood up, shook his hand, introduced myself, and offered to pay for a service checkup including refreshing connectline between my pair of Oticon Chili SP9 aids and its necklace-​based bluetooth remote control device. He then stated that I wait longer while he would check my aids to see if they are legal ~ I had also brought along another exact pair also with its necklace, they’re a backup for my extensive business traveling needs. After an half hour, he came out and stated that one is indeed my name and the other is from the VA (as a vet, that’s where I got them!) and will not help me due to their so-​called binding contract with HA manufacturers. He in turn recommended that I get an updated hearing test (mine was only three months old!) and buy a new pair from him then, he can help me. I nicely mentioned that this particular hearing aid model works very well for my hearing needs and do not need another one pair. To my surprise with his abrupt response, «How do you know you need this particular hearing aid model?» Realizing we were not going anywhere with his surprising negative attitude. It appeared he seriously needed customer service/​sensitivity or even anger management training workshop, I then apologized for taking up his time. Even the lady at the front desk rolled her eyes up when he went stomping back to his cave ~ er, office. I moved on and thanked the front desk. I had to chuckled a bit as it was like being in a Seinfeld show; the front desk appeared to have seen this often.
Gosh, for well over 40 years that I’ve had great opportunity to work with these wonderful solid hearing aid professionals, they are the ones who have helped me advancing my career and more. Fortunately, there are other solid HA professionals nearby who were able to support needs.
However sadly, I was truly borderline shocked at this unexpected harsh customer support especially after these Unilocal’s great reviews, I suspect that at least some of them is too good to be true. Also, as an active member of a many large hearing impaired/​deaf organizations, I’ve learned through grapevine that this firm apparently is not popular but for mostly elderly folks. Thus my apology for submitting a one-​star stellar for a really bad service and without reservation, I recommend that you run away from them as far as you can.

I got my hearing aids at the Center for Better Hearing. I couldn’t be more pleased. Greg helped me make the right choice of hearing aids, and the Center’s support, over the years, has been terrific. I recently had a small emergency (due to user error), and they immediately repaired the device for me and returned it pronto. I live in a senior center and I’ve referred several other residents to the Center. They’ve all been just as satisfied as I am.

I cannot too highly recommend The Center for Better Hearing Aids in El Cerrito Plaza. From the introductory seminar and lunch, to the no-​cost and thorough hearing test, to explaining the difference between the various products, to the trial period policy, I was clearly being taken care of by experienced professionals whose focus is truly on customer satisfaction. A critical point to make is that the service-​after-​sale is sterling and, I realized before spending this serious sum of money, is included in the price of the aids — you are not buying just another gadget but an incredibly sophisticated medical instrument and I believe one should take it as seriously as if getting a pacemaker.
Importantly, nearly a year since getting my hearing aids I remain astonished by how effective they are and, when I take them off before going to bed, how it seems as if I have just put on hearing protectors — the ambient sound quality simply goes dead. And I am so accustomed to them being «part of me» that I have twice gotten into the shower with them on — thankfully causing no harm to them.
This is one purchase I can say I am so glad I chose to make without trying to save money, and only to ensure I did not become just another hearing aid wearer who says they don’t work — I bought the best from the best (and TCFBHA is very cost-​competitive given what they provide). I wear mine from the time my feet hit the floor until I return to bed and I can tell you that they have changed my life in so many wonderful ways.
I can also enthusiastically recommend that if you know or suspect you have a hearing deficiency, to get tested and to buy the best hearing aids you possibly can from a serious professional.
And on a slightly more personal note, I have no doubt that all of the audiologists here are excellent, but I was assigned to Suzanne and she is not just extremely good at her job, she is a pleasure to know as are all staff members I have encountered there.
The owner, Greg doesn’t just know audiology and how technology can help people live fuller, happier lives, he knows how to gather around him colleagues who get that this is a business about people who have a disability, many of whom are in denial, self0conscious about wearing hearing aids and, like I was, certain that the high-​end aids are way over-​priced. Once I understood what I was buying and how they were going to make sure I was getting the best possible results, spending the money was a no-​brainer.
As I have gone to some length to sincerely and completely describe my
gratitude for the experience I have had and continue to have, it is my pleasure to say that Greg has created and operates an enterprise I can enthusiastically recommend.

I am a nurse practitioner and when one of my patients recommended the Center for Better Hearing Aids to me, I immediately scheduled an appointment for a loved one. I accompanied him to his appointment and was extremely impressed at the amount of time and effort that Josh put into getting my friend’s hearing aides to work (he didn’t want to charge us anything, he did at our insistence).
Since then the hearing aides, on occasion, have needed to be tweaked and the service has been excellent. Instead of sending out the hearing aides to be repaired, the staff at Better Hearing do the repair while you wait.
I now refer many of my patients to Center for Better Hearing Aids.

My experience with Greg at Center for Better Hearing Aids has been excellent. I had been to two other hearing aid fitters before going to Greg, and I had been very disappointed with their lack of expertise with the products they sold, especially with working the software. They ultimately couldn’t solve my problems to a satisfactory degree, so I kept looking for a good fitter and the right hearing aids, until I met Greg.
I’m an audio engineer, so I’m apparently a very difficult client for hearing aids, as I notice every little thing, and have very high expectations. However, I found Greg to really know what he was talking about — he really knew what products would work for my hearing loss, which is a difficult one, and he was really knowledgeable about the tools and software that he uses. He dealt with every challenge we encountered, and I am very happy with the hearing aids I now use. They work well, and I hardly have to think about them anymore.
I also misplaced mine just before a business trip, and Greg programmed a loaner pair and had them available for me to pick up within a couple hours notice. Really great service.
I’ve learned that finding a great fitter is the key to success with hearing aids and I can very enthusiastically recommend Greg and his company to anyone who’s looking for a great hearing aid supplier and fitter.

I had already been wearing hearing aids for about three years, but after a further hearing loss, I needed newer, more powerful replacements. For various reasons, I decided to drop my former provider and look elsewhere. A friend recommended Center For Better Hearing Aids, saying that they had helped her select her first pair and had provided excellent service. Since they were only a mile away, I decided to give them a try.
I booked an appointment with Greg, who was very helpful and quite knowledgeable about the various brands that he carried. After a hearing test, he told me that Phonak made a hearing aid that would provide the power and programmability that I needed for the severe loss in my left ear.
Greg ordered them and although there were problems getting them to work properly for my difficult and unique hearing loss, he saw me regularly over the course of the next three months until we were both satisfied that they were properly adjusted. He saw me two or three times a month, making small adjustments and listening to my feedback. It was a somewhat long process, but it was well worth it in the end. I hear so much better with my new hearing aids!
I’m so glad that my friend told me about Center For Better Hearing Aids and I’m happy to pass on the recommendation. They offer great service, a wide selection of products, and a friendly and very knowledgeable staff.

I’ve been wearing hearing aids for 30 years, and have seen a lot of audiologists and hearing aid providers. My training is as a physicist and computer scientist. Josh was recommended to me by Hearing Planet about 6 years ago and he is by far the most knowledgeable provider I have ever worked with. These days the technology is both powerful and extremely complex. Josh is an amazing guide to it all. His encyclopedic knowledge is incredibly impressive!

Josh was extremely thorough and helpful in his exam. I’m impressed with their service and when I’m ready, I will certainly purchase from them. The only negative comment I have is about their website, which is absolutely atrocious and doesn’t provide any useful information. It looks like a bad example from the ‘90s and is in no way worthy of or representative of who they are. Please fix this, CBHA!

When my husbands newish hearing aids started to clog I decided to go local instead of trucking back to UCSF for a checkup. There were a lot of good reviews for these guys so we made an appointment.
We were really expecting to be told we needed to get new replacements, or at least a pricey repair but no!
Josh took his time cleaning and replacing tubes and then re-​calibrated the devices to fine tune the frequencies taking special care to lower the volume in an area that seemed out of whack and recording my voice so that he could maximize my husbands hearing of me. — HEAVEN!!!
He also gave us better information about the way they function and my husbands substantial hearing loss… He is a Jazz record producer from the days when hours of listening at high volumes was the way it worked.
Now, instead of pulling them out an hour or two after putting them in because they were uncomfortable he has started wearing them all day with no problem.
This is a HUGE improvement!!! I really thank Josh and the Center for their help and attention to detail.
When the time comes we will definitely go back to them for new hearing aids!
All of the testing and cleaning was free… very unusual in this day and age, and they made us feel great!
Cannot recommend more highly!!! Good Job! We will be back :)
THANK YOU

I can hear again and I know why ! I finally bought myself a pair of hearing aids at the Center For Better Hearing Aids. I had been tested at my beloved Kaiser many times and told that if I wanted to I should buy some hearing aids which might help my mid-​level loss in both ears. After a flirtation wit a pair I bought there I returned them because «they didn’t make much difference».
As a Realtor at Red Oak Realty in Berkeley, it is essential that I hear what my clients are saying all the time, that I do not miss the nuance of their comments. Until now and for a very long time that has been a more of a problem than I was willing to admit.
This winter I allowed myself to see Greg at The Center for Better Hearing in El Cerrito Plaza (plenty of parking) where over three +/​-​months working him I came to understand that I do have a serious hearing loss which has been corrected.
Greg’s style was to work patiently and meticulously with me on a regular basis, sometimes once a week, until the hearing aids were working effectively, feeling comfortable and staying put in my ears the way they must or else «why bother».
I wore the testers with Greg’s adjusting them until they were perfect; at least perfect for me, and I trusted that the whole idea that wearing hearing aids was a significant addition to my life.
When we achieved that status he ordered me a pair of «ruby red» hearing aids which turned out to be less Wizard of Oz sparkly shoe color and more muted red. We were initially disappointed but decided that it was a better color to blend in with my hair. BTW, you cannot tell that I am wearing them unless I whip them off to proudly show them to you.
I was and am delighted with the attitude and intention of everyone at the Center and the care and kindness that I received. If you need hearing aids or even think that you do, take the plunge as i did and make an appointment to explore the possibilities. The visits are free, including the testing, until you decide to buy the hearing aids. I am sure that you can pay a bit less at other venues but I know that you will not get better care insuring that you have bought just the right hearing aids for your loss and life style and achieved a clear understanding of what is causing your loss, than at The Center for Better Hearing Aids, nor could you work with nicer and more competent people.
BRAVO TO GREG AND HIS STAFF, AND TO ME WHO FINALLY BIT THE BULLITT AND CAN HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING !
Barbara Hendrickson

My mother was becoming very hard of hearing and was so resistant to check into any sort of hearing aid or help of any kind. I convinced her to attend a free seminar given by this organization on hearing loss and what could be done. We were so impressed with the seminar, it’s very competent and professional employees. My mother gave in and is now thankfully a member of the hearing world. I attribute her success to the organization at large but particularly to her therapist Suzanne Baptiste, who tirelessly supported my mother through her trials and successes. She is an amazing teacher, has endless patience, and is a true professional in her art. I must also mention Louise who sits at the front desk and assists clients in maintaining the health of their hearing aids and works through any problem you bring to her. She is also amazing!

For the last several years, my 93 year old uncle has been having trouble keeping his ear piece stay in his ear. Various vision centers «fixed» the troublesome piece, only to have it pop out of uncle’s ear hours afterwards. Last week, we popped into Center for Better Hearing Aids located at 190 El Cerrito Plaza. The lovely, Mr. Joshua Brown, took my uncle’s ear piece, along with us into the back, and proceeded to clean, bend and mend the piece. And now it’s a perfect fit! Joshua refused payment for his service… asking us to come back when we needed more care. Needless to say this made us smile all day and indeed all week. Thank you so much Joshua for your kind and caring service. We will be back!

Gold standard service and expertise. I was diagnosed with hearing loss in my 30s and went to see Greg Free. He was excellent about providing information (I even got to see the inside of my ear canal on camera, that was cool), product overview, and gave me a very good analysis of the process. He even took my vanity into consideration– and even though I ended up getting very discreet hearing aids, I liked them so much I actually found myself showing them off. I’ve recommended him to several people and they’ve all thanked me for referring them to such a great, conscientious audiologist. Big ups!

I was very happy with the Center for Better Hearing Aids. When I was referred there by someone at the Hearing Loss Association, I was skeptical. Skeptical that my hearing loss was that bad (clearly the timer on the microwave is broken, not me) and skeptical that new hearing aids would be any better for me than the 7 year old ones I already had.
Suzanne was great about working with me to update the programming on my old Oticon hearing aids until I was ready to get new ones, and steered me to a new pair from Phonak that are less expensive and more water resistant than the Oticon ones I was initially considering. I’ve finished the trial and recently bought them and I am thrilled– especially with the water resistance– I’ve gotten caught in the rain twice and sprayed in the face with a hose once since I got them and not had any problems. Before I’d be freaking out and taking my hearing aids out at the slightest chance of humidity.
Suzanne was also very patient, updating the programming slowly over time to help me adapt to the appropriate level of amplification. I’d highly recommend the Center for Better Hearing Aids to anyone struggling with hearing loss.

A friend of mine who was very happy with the Center for Better Hearing Aids referred me, and now I see why.
I called the Center for my girlfriend, who has had severe hearing loss since birth, because the last pair of high-​end hearing aids she got didn’t work well for her.
One of the hearing aid dispensers – Greg – spoke to me at length on his lunch break on the day that I called. He was very thorough, professional, and helpful, so we decided to schedule a free consultation.
For the free consultation, we met with another hearing aid dispenser: Josh. We’ve now met with Josh twice. He has exceeded our expectations on every level. He is clearly passionate about his work and about helping people. He’s gone out of his way to explain things to us clearly, and was way more thorough and careful with his testing than the last audiologist who tested my girlfriend. He spent a generous amount of time with us to make sure that my girlfriend would get the best results possible, as quickly as reasonably possible.
She received her hearing aids on the second meeting, and told me that this was literally the best day of her life. She has never heard so well in her entire life, and she’s looking forward to hearing even better as they fine-​tune the hearing aids on subsequent appointments.
Top-​of-​the-​line hearing aids aren’t cheap, but compared to other hearing aid dispensers in the area, the prices of this place are competitive. Plus, they helped my girlfriend get a line of credit with zero interest for a full year to pay for the hearing aids.
I have only positive things to say about the Center for Better Hearing Aids. I recommend it without hesitation.