28Feb25 @ 0800 in the morning.... I am a honorably discharged 65 Year old Vet that had an appointment arranged by a contractor to the veterans administration for this particular office on the big island..... I have a autoimmune pulmonary disease... That limits my breathing. Almost instantly when I walk through the door at 8:30 in the morning and identified myself they told me I had to wear a mask.... Covid was 5 years ago... There is no federal mandate there is no State mandate... But yet they insisted that I wear this mask... I emphatically said no and was not going to do it and they said that I wouldn't be able to have my compensation and pension exam for the veterans administration unless I put on this face diaper.... This is a blatant disregard for my pulmonary disease and my rights under the Constitution..... I will be chatting with an attorney to see in what capacity they have the authority to force veterans to wear this thing..... I drove at least a hundred miles round trip today for absolutely nothing.... read more

September 23 Update - Read Down Below. . To: Gil Festin - strategic engagement manager, HNL. Hello Gil, first-of-all, this is a Veteran-to-Veteran conversation. As a Dual-service Veteran, I was appalled by the "experience" I had with your satellite Kona office; during my first contact with island audiology. First contact - it's a well-known maxim that in every business, your front desk or receptionist is a Key to Success. Obviously anyone with a malignant resting-face and UN-professional attitude is a detriment, no matter who they are "related to, or, best friends with", or in some "special" members-only club. Your Kona receptionist (if it's the SAME one from a few years back), reminded me a someone I once met at a Junkyard while searching for parts. Second contact - the audiologist hardly asked any questions, did not look up so I could read her lips, and was exhibiting a detached, Judgemental and suspicious attitude that didn't set well with me. I don't expect a dozen roses on the first date, or care for any compliments; just keeping it Top / Bottom "professional" works in my case. As in the movie, The "Descendants", George Clooney's character stated that " In Hawaii, you do NOT know Who you meet, nor who they are" ... mostly because we have nothing to prove. There was a part of the testing module that I had asked for Specifically ... but was either omitted or never disclosed. Third contact - When I received my copy of the audio-metric results, the testing module I had asked for ... was Not included. Called their office several times only to be rebutted by the horse-face at the front desk, who then called back and left messages that the audiologist was too busy. Who's Not Busy? Everyone is busy, so are your audiologists really that "special"? Negative. Gil, next time you visit the USS Arizona Memorial on Memorial or Veteran's Day, if you look just above the US Marine's Cover ... the next panel to the immediate right has my great-uncle's name inscribed there and always There ... "Duty ... Honor ... Country' . Note - my intention here is to simply bring some Transparency to your Kona office, so that other Veteran's and civilians can avail themselves to a Fair Standard review. Also noticed that THERE is another Veteran's review from Ocean view, that has been subdued, FYI. NEVER market yourselves as "Veteran Friendly", as that would be obviously false. No apologies are necessary, as they will sound artificially hollow, since that Time has already passed. DSM ................................................................................................................................ September 23rd Update - my Review was SUPPOSE to be read and answered by the Gil Festin (strategic engagement manager) in HNL ... it was not, instead the Oahu manager responded with a short Generic message, and would have been better if she had not. Here's the takeaway points to keep in mind : 1. Did not address multiple problems with front staff, as others have also pointed out, In The Past. 2. Passed On the "blame" to a Dot GOV agency, which has nothing to do with OPERATING and STAFFING a privately-owned business. 3. Provided no Solutions to THEIR Kona office issues and problems, even though, other reviews here also mention the very SAME front office people. read more

Derek Beaudoin was very kind the two times I have been seen by him. The last time was because I needed new hearing aids. I went through the hearing test and then discussed my options. The hearing aids that we both felt would best benefit my lifestyle were outrageously expensive (for my fixed income). Derek then discussed the option to finance through a lender, but the monthly payments were still more than I could afford comfortably. Derek could see that I was struggling as I really needed these hearing aids, but knew I just couldn't afford them. I left the office feeling overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. When I discussed the situation with my husband he suggested going to Costco hearing aid center. I am glad I did as I was able to purchase the best rated hearing aids for a fraction of the cost of those from Island Audiology. My complaint with Island Audiology is that Derek could clearly see that I was unable to afford those expensive hearing aids and instead of doing the ethical thing by suggesting Costco, he let me leave his office feeling distraught. I own a small business, and I understand overhead and the cost of running a business, especially during this time, but I can't count the times I have sent a prospective customer to another shop instead of trying to sell them something they don't want or need. Ethics, it should be the cornerstone of any business, which Island Audiology is sadly lacking. read more

Professional and friendly service, clean office and best of all, no waiting!!

Surly receptionist had the unmitigating gall to say "this time I'll let it go" when we were all of 6 minutes late for an appt. Because of worse than usual traffic. Audiologist is very nice but they need a new receptionist badly. read more

I was visiting Kona when my mothers hearing aid quit working. The person at the front desk had us come right over and worked us in promptly. After checking the hearing aid, we were told it was only clogged and they returned it to my mother all cleaned up for no charge. You can't ask for better. Fast, friendly and honest. Thanks! read more

My husband has a referral from the VA. He tried calling Kona Ofc and phone was never answered or picked up by recording. Today we went into Kona and went into the office. The receptionist asked if we had an appointment. We said no and she was immediately irritated. We tried to tell her why we were there but she kept cutting us off. She kept saying they do not take walk-ins. We again tried to explain that we had a referral and wanted to make an appointment. But she kept cutting us off when we tried to explain why were were there. She got extremely rude and ordered us to leave her office. She kept repeating that they don't take walk-ins. She said she would have her manager throw us out. We called the Honolulu office while she went into the back room to call her manager (at our request). When she returned several minutes later, she had her manager on the phone. I don't know what she told him but he said he would have the VA to refer us to someone else because we had disrupted his office. So basically he said he did not want our business. And when I said I was going to post a review, he threatened to have his legal team contact me. So with a response like that, how could I not post this review. So I do not know if the doctors are any good or not as I could not get past the obnoxious receptionist. If all fairness, when we have called Honolulu, they have always tried to be helpful and are pleasant to us. My husband had been going to Island Audio for almost 5 years and the first dr he saw was very nice as was the receptionist. They are no longer there. So I would respectfully suggest that anyone needing an audiologist, try Hilo side of the Island. read more

I went for a hearing test 6-15-18. They seemed thorough. I paid on my own for this test, about $130. My ins. did not cover this locale, no problem, I was referred by my Dr.'s office. I came here based on some tinnitus I was having in one ear. Tester focused on hearing loss, and finding that I needed a hearing aid. She even used another testers, hearing room, to see what her findings were, or correct she told me she had just started here in Kona. I said to her, I am here for tinnitus in my right ear. Se did not address this much, if at all, which was my PRIMARY reason to be be here, which I STRESSED upon scheduling and at the appt.. It felt to me, she was trying to find hearing loss, need for purchasing a hearing aid somewhere, not talk about tinnitus. Today, I was on Facebook, and I saw them offering a free hearing test, special for July? on my timeline. I commented, I wish I had this opportunity, I just paid last month. They replied, but to ck it out, all trace of my communication, and the offer, suddenly got gone, like POOF. I do not know what that was all about. I understand that testers are testing hearing. I would believe that other issues, such as tinnitus, or what you schedule a an appointment for, should be addressed. If you tell them that, and they say yes, and you schedule it and ask for info on it, before and at the start and during testing, I would believe that would be a focus. Even though a very nice receptionist, made the appt., the hearing test person, should listen to your concerns, before and during testing. Just saying. read more