I was wondering if it was just ME, but after reading most of the other reviews, it's clear this "doctor" leaves much to be desired. Just as MOST of the others had to say, this doctor came off as arrogant, condescending and even confrontational. My elderly 86-year-old father was nervous about seeing Dr. Carrigg again because just as we got into his new office, my father suddenly remembered that it was THIS doctor who hurt him during an ear wax removal appointment some 4 years ago at an older office location. That first visit actually left a scab on my father's ear drum. I tried to tell the doctor to be careful and gentle this time, and Carrigg actually told me to "drop it!" I will NEVER bring my aging father to this "doctor" again. read more

Amazing doctor. Helped immediately with my problem of hearing. I am so glad I found him. Very knowledgeable. And I am now following his advice for better hearing. Stephanie, his assistant, is also a treasure. Down to earth, helpful and kind. read more

first, they only take cash or check. I rarely have my checkbook and prefer to pay with my credit or debit card. my checkbook is to pay my rent and that is about it second, horrible bedside manner. it felt like I was wasting his time (all 3 minutes of it) and the fact that he told me that there is no way I could be experiencing pain? please don't assume you know what I experience. if you want drive through service then go here, but if you want to actually talk with the doctor, go eslewhere read more

Dr. Carrigg is the best ENT specialist I have ever been to. Here's why: 1. He was able, through the aggressive use of antibiotics, to cure what I thought was a chronic ear problem that nobody else had been able to fix. 2. I had had chronic nosebleeds, usually once every 3-4 days, for several years, once involving a call to 911. I had been to another ENT who cauterized the area, to no effect. Dr. Carrigg identified and fixed an aneurysm in my nose that had been the ultimate cause of the problem. I haven't had a nosebleed since then, two years now. He is extremely knowledgeable about all things involving the ear and nose and his treatments have been, for me, spot on. I recommend Dr. Carrigg without any reservations whatsoever. Sure, he's not a touchy-feely sort of doctor, but I'd rather have a no-nonsense doctor who cured my problems than someone with a great bedside manner who didn't know jack. read more

I'm giving Dr. Carrigg and staff a 5 start review because I had been sick with the flu and developed a sore and pulsating sensation in my \ ear. I called this am and was told the Dr. was booked for the day. After explaining I was fearful of a possible ear infection, and didn't want to wait over the weekend, Stephanie, the receptionist was so nice and accommodating to work me into their busy schedule. I only had to wait about an hour to see the Dr. and I was very impressed by his expertise and knowledge, I was diagnosed quickly and a short procedure was done to correct the problem. This local practice is a treasure and I highly recommend him and his staff for their professionalism and compassion. Annette & Don Moresi read more

Very Impatient unethical & unprofessional receptionist (Stephanie) in taking the most important aspect of Medical Assessment which is blood pressure using only a digital BP wrist monitor . She took the Vitals of my 80+Senior friend & encountered errors with the BP monitor 3-4x .She was annoyed & kept telling us that it works awhile ago but doesn't seem to work yet that time when she was getting it. On top of her impatience she kept telling us in our face that she still have a lot of things...to do inside .That if i can guess the last BP that she had so she's done & can write it down on her medical chart or else she's gonna copy the last BP that she had more than 5-6 months long ago .How rude & unprofessional is that!!! Medical charting shld. be accurate @ all times its the patients right to get the medical treatment that they need based on the medical findings. Soo...your impatience and unprofessionalism doesn't fit in to yhe scope of work your in. I'll be nice with the review if you're a little intelligent & professional:) read more

Dr. Carrigg may possess a wealth of knowledge regarding hearing disfunction, but he did not seem interested in sharing much of it with me. In fact, I had the distinct impression that he has grown bored by the repetitiveness of the whole thing and his rote comments seemed tired and perfunctory. He was not interested in what I had to report. He was definitely interested in getting me into a pair of Lyric hearing aids and spent well over half my time there pushing them. Suspiciously large portion of my time, in fact. As it is a local company (I looked), I wondered if the good doctor might have had a financial interest in Lyric. I do not think that, if it is the case, it is necessarily a bad thing if he has a part in developing a 'better' mouse trap (hearing aid) for folks with impaired hearing, but I expected some effort in the analytical department, a reasonable attempt at diagnosis, investigation, blood work, MRI, etc. Anything more than a cursory look in my ear searching for waxy deposits. I went to another ENT and she is all over my case and I feel something may come of it. A completely different experience and even if nothing comes of it, I will be convinced that a reasonable effort was involved, unlike my experience with Dr. Carrigg. read more

Been seeing Dr. Carrigg for 7 years now & I love his practice. I've had an ear issue for many years that even the docs back in Boston at Harvard's Mass.General weren't able to help with. He took care of the problem on the first visit & gave me a variety of things I could do at home to help keep the problem at bay. I really like this proactive approach. He is a straight shooter, no fluff & tells it like it is. I have to say, it is refreshing in this day & age. There is a personal touch in this office, his admin assistant is fantastic & can always fit you in. It's easy to get to by car or Bart, right in downtown Orinda, & parking is ample. read more

This guy is great if you want cut-to-the-chase, genuine solutions. I read these reviews but had the opposite experience. A friend recommended him to me after I called her complaining that every ENT I called wanted $300 for a first visit...to remove earwax! She recommended Dr. Carrigg and they squeezed me in, on a FRIDAY, to see me. The guy was great! He checked to see if earwax was the problem and removed it. Nice guy, Direct, Easy. Reasonable price. I was overjoyed! So, I recommend him highly. read more

Dr. Carrigg is an excellent doctor: extremely knowledgeable and skillful as well as patient and caring. Plus he has a good sense of humor. Five stars to him and to Stephanie. If you need an ENT specialist I highly recommend him. read more

terrible - just as everyone else has said. horrid bedside manner. told me that my condition was in my head. spoke a lot from his own personal experience ("when similar things have happened to me" - "when i went in for an endoscopy" and on and on). i am not there to learn from his personal experience. i had to shove on him all the information i'd gathered beforehand (including, luckily, detailed information on what sorts of tests should be ordered thanks to a friend who'd experienced something similar) for him to VERY begrudgingly agree to look into my situation further, all the while telling me he was certain that they would turn up nothing. (well, then, great! i would LOVE for them to turn up nothing. it's not like i enjoy being sick.) i also had to listen to him rant for 10-15 minutes about something completely unrelated to my medical issue - some issue he has with hospitals, attending practices, blah blah blah. as if the wait in doctor's offices isn't enough - i mean, really? get a therapist, dude. i should have told him to stop but i needed the test he was going to order for me and i'd already paid my co-pay - i wasn't about to go somewhere else. in short, the guy has problems, is nearing retiring age, and really shouldn't be seeing patients anymore. read more

Years of experience, excellent bedside manner, and I have no complaints. I normally don't review medical professionals but felt inclined after reading less than stellar reviews despite the fact that he came so highly recommended by my general physician. Incredible experience- ignore the dated and/or odd reviews. 5 stars, hands down. read more

In spite of a few bad reviews I decided to try this ENT doctor anyway. I was having some pain in my ear and the wax buildup seemed unmanageable. His office was the only one I could actually reach out of three that I called. The receptionist was very helpful and let me know the best time to come in on very short notice. Dr. Carrigg was to-the-point, cordial, cleaned out my ears, made sure there was no infection or damage, let me know about his findings and was easy to understand. He made some suggestions with regard to what he thought the problem might be, inexpensive ones. The price was reasonable, less than I thought I would have to pay. I was relieved to know that I was fine. It took a while for the ear to kind of balance out after the treatment, but now my hearing seems back to normal and the pressure is subsiding. read more

I would not recommend this doctor. He has a horrible bedside manner and is very condescending. He was no help with my ear issue either.

Interesting to see both horrible and too good to be true reviews. As if the review was made up by someone ?? My experience was not all bad I need to say. Dr Carrigg seems to know his stuff, I think. The bedside manner could use a tune up. I found myself repeating myself and my symptoms several times during the visit, as if he did not listen the first time. The clinical picture would shift each time I saw him and finally after several visits I realized he did not know what was wrong. Last point, on one visit I was in need of symptom relief and hoped to get some medication (anti-inflammatory and or antibiotic) and he ASSUMED I was asking for a narcotic. he barked, "I don't have a narcotic license". It seems that assumptions like this can only get in the way of the patient doctor relationship (Med School 101). Maybe he should first ask, "what do you have in mind?" before assuming I'm an addict or twisting my request to seem like a request from an addict. The patient never feels understood when their doctor responds like this. The receptionist is quite pleasant and polite on the surface. As long as your requests are simple and not out of the ordinary she'll treat you fine. She does seem to get frazzled with multi-tasking and requests out of the norm. The demeanor changes and she tends to be more rigid. She could sure use a lesson and course in simple PR with the public. While she's brushing up on her skillsets another course in HIPPA laws (Privacy) would also be in order. On one visit while in the waiting room, I could clearly overhear her on the phone telling a patient both their login and password information to access their medical record. This is clearly both unethical and illegal. Good thing I'm NOT posting access to your medical information here on YELP. Can you guess why I left? read more

I went to see Dr. Carrigg about a month ago. I had a great experience so I came to Yelp.com and was surprised to see a couple of negative reviews. I had previously seen another ENT doctor and wanted a second opinion about my continual nose problems. The previous doctor was pushing surgery and said there were no other options. Dr. Carrigg not only spent more time listening to my issue but was far more informative as to different ways to treat me. He put me on a treatment program that has worked very well and I have avoided having surgery. I am extremely happy that I saw him and I would recommend him. read more

I have what are apparently nightmare narrow twisted ear canals that make it extremely difficult to clear the wax from. I've been treated by a number of different ear specialists throughout the years, and Dr. Carrigg is the best, bar none. I hope he never retires... read more

Dr. Carrigg is simply the best. He has been treating my family, including my 89 year old mother, for more than 25 years. He performed a complicated sphenoid surgery on my husband that likely saved his life. Years later, during a routine visit, Dr. Carrigg noticed a spot on my husband's forearm. He asked if he had ever had it checked. My husband did have it checked previously (twice) by his primary care physician and was told (twice) it was nothing. Dr. Carrigg referred him to a dermatologist (Dr. Daniel Wall - also fabulous) who biopsied the spot and the result was malignant melanoma. So...he saved his life twice. A wonderful man and a skilled doctor beyond compare. Thank you for your care. His front office assistant, Stephanie, is professional, friendly and can seem to fit you in even when the doctor is booked solid. She's number one in my book. read more

Competent, caring doctor as there ever was. True, he has little patience for stupidity or whining. He knows what he is doing and has solved many problems for people in my family. read more

I have known Dr. Carrigg for many years and never seemed to have any issues until recently. I've had my ear wax removed on a regular basis and it was always the same: more wax on the right ear and less on the left. This time Dr. Carrigg asked me which ear I had trouble with and I reminded him it was both. This seemed to trigger an uncontrollable rage as he began to yell: Answer my question, God da... can't you answer a simple question? I answered truthfully the second time but he kept on yelling and swearing at me telling me not to tell him how to do his job and to sit there quietly. I said:" You mean I should just shut up? His answer was:" Exactly! My feeling is that it seemed Dr. Carrigg set me up to have an excuse to vent his frustrations on me. I have always had the same problem with my ears. Why even ask which ear if he already knew? If he doesn't want to deal with old people anymore why even give me an appointment? read more