I have been seeing Dr Kim for well over a decade. I arrived with a referral for surgical services long before he started his private practice. My complex issues include biological and environmental allergies, childhood ear damage, and the quirks of my physiology. His skills and experience have provided long-term solutions to my challenges. This includes bilateral surgical interventions where holes had to be drilled into my skull and rebuilding an ear drum from facia from behind my ear. This is not a trivial process. It requires decades of training, knowledge in the latest techniques and the raw skill to work on the delicate structures of the middle and inner ear. Choosing to visit a provider of Dr Kim's skill requires an acceptance that his morning surgeries might run long which throws off everything that follows. When I was on that table, I wanted his full attention. If office appointments get bumped because of complications, I'd want them bumped. When I am sitting in the waiting area, I accept things might be running behind. That is the nature of health care today. Health care is about people. Health insurance is about maximizing shareholder value and the CEO's bonus. We lost thousands of providers after/during COVID. Like it or not these complex vectors clash in the waiting room. Show a little empathy. Show a little awareness of how much the health care industry has been forced to change in the last decade. If you don't like the outcomes, talk with your insurance company or elected officials. They are the reason most interactions with my primary care provider are 10 mins speed runs where I am limited to 1 topic per visit followed by a 2 week wait for a follow-up. They are the reason providers were forced into expensive 100% digital record keeping driving up costs providers are forced to pay to just to integrate with digital payment and pre-authorizations. Last time I checked, my health care providers do not have PhDs in Computer Science too. Don't confuse mandate and pre-auth requirements with a provider's choice or provider apathy. Providers leave practice because they are no longer allowed to see patients and deliver the services they spend decades learning. We are lucky skilled practitioners like Dr Kim. When Dr Kim is standing in front of me asking what I am struggling with, I know he is 100% present and focused on my needs. If it takes 30 minutes, he spends 30 minutes. For me, this is level of care and attention is priceless. Additionally, I am willing to wait a bit longer so that another patient can receive that same devoted care. I'm thrilled to have Dr Kim and his staff help with my complex ear issues. If you want an assembly line, join Keiser or use the cheapest option from the Oregon Health Plan. I'm going to stick with an expert who cares about my health. I'm sticking with Dr Kim and his team. read more

I have been seeing Dr Kim and his staff for a number of years and travel 70+ miles one way to see them. They are all professional friendly and always make me feel welcome and that my care is important to them. I highly recommend them to anyone needing hearing care. read more

My 96 years old mom had an appointment with Dr Kim for cleaning her ear wax, to be followed by an appointment with the audiologist. I was told by the front desk that the appointment would take about an hour. My mom was transported from her nursing home for this appointment. She got there early and was taken in to see the doctor even before the check in time, which was good. Dr Kim had good bedside manners and cleaned my mom's ear wax with relative ease. But the office manager and the receptionist's bedside manners were deplorable. They were rude and condescending, telling us that the audiologist was not available. Till the audiologist herself stepped in and offered to check my mom's hearing aids, one of which was acquired here. She replaced the plastic tube on the aids and put in fresh batteries. The rudeness of the staff to the office Manager eye rolls and condescending attitude is not acceptable. We had followed a previous audiologist to this practice and had been coming here for a long time. The office manager physically touched me as she pushed me away from the front desk, saying I should follow the above said audiologist to her new office at Kaiser!! Needless we will not be coming to this practice again. Incidentally, also saw the receptionist being rude to another person, who was accompanying a patient. Even the doctor had to remind the office manager to ease off, as she rushed the poor doctor. Most unprofessional and exceptionally rude office staff! read more

I have suffered for a decade with vertigo and migraines since childhood. After four years of being brushed off by neurologist, urgent care, general practitioner and an ENT. Dr. Kim easily diagnosed me with VM (vertigo migraine). He listened carefully and intently without being an arrogant turd. He gave a me a few options to prevent my VM rather than treat the symptoms. I highly recommend him to anyone suffering with tennitis, vertigo, hearing loss, and balance disorders. He is a rare find and an asset to have in your corner. read more

Update: See below for the original review. I can now safely rate this place even lower, since I just called Northwest Ear Institute to unsubscribe from e-mails that I am still getting from them (no unsubscribe button in the e-mails of course). The woman I spoke to was disrespectful and rude, no surprise there judging from my previous interactions with these people. I spoke calmly and respectfully and got hung up on, and talked back to on my second call. Asking for a supervisor went nowhere, so I ended the call. Original review: First off I want to mention, I found Dr. Kim to be knowledgeable and pleasant to work with. I received some good advice and information on my condition. Nothing to complain there. However, I did not appreciate that I was not informed beforehand that the visit included a mandatory hearing test with an audiologist, and that this was seemingly inseparably part of the cost for the visit. They also did not send me the patient paperwork to my e-mail beforehand, which left me thinking that doing the Paperwork through the ZocDoc website was sufficient, which it wasn't since they apparently can't access those forms online. Furthermore, when I stated to the audiologist that I had trouble breathing with the mask on in the tiny audio booth, she gaslighted me by stating the air was all the same in the office. I severely disagree with this, when you are in a tiny booth with the door closed, even if there is technically a small vent, does not mean that it is the same amount of oxygen and free flowing air as in the rest of the office, especially when wearing a mask. I'm neither a hypochondriac, nor claustrophobic, but I was literally out of breath after exiting the booth. In any case, a little kindness and understanding by the audiologist would have gone a long way. When I later mentioned this to the receptionist, she at first apologized for this experience, but went on to make the same statement that the air is the same everywhere in the office, once again gaslighting me, which was not only unnecessary, but also plain bad customer service. Again, a bit of humility and understanding go a long way in these situations. Come to think of it, all of the people in the office I spoke to gave the exact same response, which means I must have not been the only person that has complained about this issue. Throughout the whole process I remained calm and was not looking to needlessly complain, but rather to voice my dissatisfaction. I understand that medical facilities are technically required by law to mandate masks still, but to force patients to wear it throughout the whole visit, even when sitting alone in an isolated, tiny booth, just doesn't make any sense at all. Anyway, when I left the office I could faintly hear some people giggling behind me, so my assumption is the receptionist and another person were laughing off the events that just transpired - which, if this is indeed what happened, is incredibly unprofessional, on top of everything else. So again, my visit with the actual Doctor was ok, but most everything else here was a terrible experience. I do not recommend this place. read more

dr Kims staff that did the testing was very nice but Dr Kim himself was very unprofessional the way he talked to me and the way he treated me he should not be doing any saif claims if makes you feel like you are trying to steal from them all that I want to do is hear again after working all my life in the mechanical industry read more

I had to make an appointment with Dr. Kim for a hearing test and ear examination due to hearing loss sustained during my employment with the city of Portland. Doctor Kim is supposed to be an " independent " doctor with no bias but I soon realized that he was not unbiased at all. In fact, based on the preliminary paperwork, that asked questions like, " do you ever operate a chainsaw at home?" and other ridiculous questions that had nothing to do with the work I did, I realized that doctor Kim's only goal was to deny that my city jobs had anything to do with my hearing loss and my severe tinnitus. His staff performed a hearing test on me in a chamber, then Dr. Kim spent seconds looking into each of my ears and very quickly concluded that my hearing problems were not related in any way to my job with the City. He said that I had previous hearing loss but did not explain why I had developed tinnitus and reduced hearing during the years I worked for the city. He seemed rushed and his staff was supposed to get me a referral to another doctor but two WEEKS later and they still have done nothing about the referral that I need to move forward with my workman's comp claim. If you need to find a Doctor for a work related issue, do yourself a favor, keep looking. I will remove this post when his staff does their job and gets me the referral that I asked for weeks ago. read more

I went in today (first time) for loss of hearing and severe tinnitus. The Dr. And the Audiologist are absolutely wonderful. Intelligent, thorough, compassionate and funny too (which helped immensely in the stress of what I've been going through.) I truly appreciated the fact that we were immediately on the same page and wasted no time on things I'd clearly researched for years now, and that I was given new information in such a concise and quick way. Nothing rushed, but to the point and precisely what I needed. I look forward to my next hearing aid appointment and Earth willing, lessening tinnitus over time. Pleased completely and very comfortable with both of them. read more

I had surgery for my right ear by Dr. Kim in 2014 for a Bone-Assisted Hearing Aid (BAHA). He did a super job and I healed without problems and adapted well to the sound processor. I've been to him for yearly checkups and always been treated courteously and professionally. This year (2019) I qualified for a replacement processor and Kimberly Nakamura, the Audiologist, made the Medicare process and paperwork so easy and FAST! She has been most helpful in the technical aspects of making sure my various music devices are paired with the processor. It's easy to get a short app't with her for adjustments and fine-tuning. Very happy with this office and medical staff. read more

Dr. Kim is an excellent surgeon. He performed cochlear implantation on both of my ears took great care to minimize trauma, advise on risk, and verify alignment between the two surgical sites. The staff are gracious and helpful. The web portal provided, gives appointment reminders and allows patients to check-in. The office always has parking and is easy to get to from Vancouver, Wa. Kimberly Nakayama, Au.D is compassionate, attentive, and empathetic to her patients cochlear device needs. The training sessions were dynamic and adjusted to the patients level of experience. read more

I'm writing this for my parents, who recently had the worst healthcare/customer service experience to date, which, after dealing with massively bureaucratic health insurance agencies, says a great deal. The first problem was that they assumed that my folks weren't insured. They didn't ask for insurance and didn't check. That's not how vision or primary care or any other medical office works; why would this be any different? After a few phone calls they found out my parents found they could go to a number of other places for over $2000 less. They came to the office early; it was closed. They waited ten minutes in another waiting room nearby until one. There were two other people waiting in the hall. The receptionist, who was right there, said "I can't let you in, it's not one," to which my mom replied, "It _is_ one!" the receptionist, who was just standing there, not doing anything in particular said, "Well, my watch says it's five to one." Who _says_ that kind of thing to an 80-year old couple?! Terrible. read more

Amazing doctor and office staff. I was referred to Dr. Kim for treatment for Menier's disease. He is extremely knowledgeable and easy to talk to. He spent a great deal of time talking to me about my condition and options for treatment. I've been dealing with this for 4 years, and Dr. Kim was the first one to really hear me out and give me concrete and positive advise. Thank you Dr. Kim and your receptionist Cathrine! read more

I am writing this review because this office treats patients poorly and without regard for their medical conditions. I was made to wait for over an hour after my appointment time and when I told the front desk I couldnt stay longer due to having to return to work I was informed I would be charged for the whole appointment out of my pocket. I asked how much longer I had to wait and they said I needed to wait until the doctor was ready to see me. A half an hour later I saw Dr. Kim. No nurse took any information, no blood pressure, no temperature, no questions about medications NOTHING. I explained to Dr. Kim all of my MANY tests were in my medical file and I asked him what he felt were my treatment options considering he proclaims his clinic is #1 for treating Menieres disease. He then said he didnt know if I had it so how could he tell me. I asked him if he reviewed my records, he said I didnt even have a file and he dowsnt have any information on me nor any idea why I was there. This is after I made an appointment and waited a.month plus to get in a d coordinated the transfer of my files. He went on to say that there procedures he could try to stop my vertigo, to which I told him I was onlu coming to get help for the hearing loss which is progressive, that I need help so that I can hear again. He continued to only discuss procedures he might do for someone who ACTUALLY has menieres, as if I dont know what I have and all the other specialists tests are wrong, and said if a couple different pills didnt work he could do surgery on my skull which would allow periodic drainage of the fluid around my brain. Again, I asked, how does this help with my hearing because vertigo, although horrible, I had found a way to manage it. But the horrible sounds created by menieres and the fluctuating pitches in my ear plus the hearing loss was making life near impossible. He again said he could do skull surgery and if that didnt work he could give me pills of biotoxin which would kill the hearing in both ears and restore my balance 50% of the time. I SAID I DONT WANT TO LOSE MY HEARING I WANT HELP HEARING!!!! His response was that even bug strong men (i am a woman...apparently not big and strong???) Struggle with the loss of hearing and horrible sounds and ask to have their ear chopped off to make it stop but his best recommendation for people like me who arent tolerating thst symptom well is to become apathetic to it and forget about it. OMG...this "DOCTOR" advice is to become apathetic to the symptom I was seeking help for. Total disgrace. He went back to, but who knows what you have. One other thing, in the waiting room there were tons of pamplets on cosmetic procedures to look younger and nothing on ear health/help. I think this guy is a quack and should be reported. read more

I highly encourage anyone reading this review to NOT go to the NW Ear Institute and find another alternative. My visit to NW Ear Institute started with a referral from an ENT. I have had ear issues since I was a little child, multiple tubes and eventually surgery. All on my left ear. My hearing has been tested throughout my life and I am well aware of the hearing loss in my left ear. Since moving to the PNW, I started the trek of finding a new ear doctor. The visit at NW Ear Institute started with a nurse who was not into her game. The mistakes she was making were very concerning to me. She kept confusing her left and rights, re did a test to verify results, and at one point turned the volume up unnecessarily high so I could hear the word pronunciations to repeat. The point of the test was to see if I could hear the words while pronounced in a normal tone. (A test I have done often). It was very un-professional and I heard a lot about how much coffee she needed. Once I saw Dr Kim, I told him my history with ear problems. He told me that the results indeed proved my issues were in my right ear and not my left. I told him that was inaccurate as I am well aware of which ear is not functioning up to par. I had recently had a CAT scan which also showed the damage in the left ear. Being a professional, he was not convinced. He began talking about my options with surgery and I'm still unsure of what exactly he was intending to do during the surgery besides remove some gunk. I do know that it would have costed $10,000 minimum, and the side effects had a long list which he reviewed carefully- up to potential brain damage from this surgery. I'm not opposed to surgery when its necessary but I do need to understand what the surgery will accomplish and what the benefit is. On top of all that, I have a genetic bleeding disorder which runs in my family. Surgery is fine, as long as a qualified hematologist is involved to assist with the medication to control the bleeding. I stated this to Dr Kim and when he heard the type of disorder he told me would question the diagnosis because he one time did surgery on a lady who supposedly had the same disease and he still operated on her and it went fine. He failed to ask me anything about my history in caring for this disease, how it has affected my family, my previous surgeries in life, nothing. He instantly questioned the disease. He told me if I was concerned, he would give me platelets. That does not aid in controlling the bleeding. I lost all confidence in Dr Kim and his office. I would have had surgery on the wrong ear, and potentially bled to death on his table. I am highly disappointed in the quality of care I received. I will not be recommending anyone to his office and I encourage all to seek medical advice elsewhere. read more

Went to my first appointment in NW Portland - 212 miles round trip from my house. Dr. did the exam and wanted to have another MRI in 6 months. 6 months later have the MRI - which was unchanged from the previous MRI. He wanted me to drive another 212 miles round trip to sit in his office only to be told - "WELL there is no change in the MRI - so we should wait 6 months" Would not tell me that over the phone or in an email - But wanted me to drive 212 miles RT in order to hear this message. Called BS on that and found another Doctor. read more

I tried to see Dr. Kim, but the receptionist took days to answer the phone. When she did, she told me that all procedures would have to be paid in cash and that I would have to give the receipt to my insurance company to be reimbursed. WTF?! read more

It's always a pleasure to meet with Dr Kim (my surgeon) and Dr Nakayama (Au.D.) annually since my complicated ear surgery. The staff is businesslike yet so kind and efficient by telephone and especially as we arrive for appointments. I appreciate the swift yet friendly manner of all there. I'm forever grateful for Dr Kim's extraordinary skill in abating my hearing loss....and thankful to all on staff at NWEar Institute for great care ever since. read more