Alison Hennessy Audiology was established by Alison in 2014 to provide the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne with affordable and high-quality audiological care.

As independent audiologists, Alison and her team are free to recommend and fit the most suitable hearing aids from any of the nine Australian manufacturers. Unlike many larger clinics or franchises, they aren’t tied to sales targets or KPIs. Instead, you are  helped to choose based on your lifestyle, preferences, and budget, with options to suit people from all walks of life.

Because AH Audiology is an independent practice with lower overheads, savings are passed on to clients.

HEARING TESTS
A hearing test is performed to determine your hearing levels and to assess whether your hearing is within the normal range.

HEARING AIDS
Diagnostic hearing tests and advice regarding management options are available at no charge for pensioners and veterans.

TINNITUS MANAGEMENT
Tinnitus is a condition where sounds are perceived in the ear/s or in the head, when there is no external sound source.

CUSTOM EAR PLUGS
We fit custom made ear plugs for musicians, swimming (including children with grommets), and for industrial noise.

• Appointments are not rushed, and results and options are explained fully on completion of the hearing test.
• An appointment to discuss options to improve hearing is free-of-charge and no-obligation.
• Wide range of hearing aids available, with the relative benefits of different hearing aid styles and technology levels carefully discussed.
• Professional best-practice fitting procedures to ensure the amplification is optimised for the individual.

“I feel so very fortunate to have Alison as my Audiologist. Her decades of experience, patience and attention to detail gives me the confidence that I am getting the very best out of my hearing.” – Steve

“Alison Hennessy is a very experienced audiologist with great knowledge in providing hearing devices. I was fitted with a fantastic pair of hearing aids. She is a very caring and gentle person who has a lot of empathy towards others. I highly recommend her, if you are interested in trying the best latest models on the market.” – Anne

“I’ve found the perfect audiologist in Alison. She is extremely professional & knowledgeable. When I first consulted her with my hearing loss & concerns, Alison introduced a range of hearing aids available & discussed the merits of each (including the price) to guide me to an optimum choice. The follow-up consultations are excellent: warm & patient: no problems/questions are too difficult or insignificant for her to find a solution.” – Cynthia

“I have a significant hearing loss and have been using hearing aids for over 40 years. For many years I saw different Audiologists, none of whom I was particularly happy with, as they would just make a few adjustments and then tell me to go away and try them for a couple of weeks. Alison was initially referred to me by one of her colleagues, as my unusual hearing loss was proving difficult for them to satisfactorily tune my new hearing aids. Alison has been my Audiologist for the last 18 years now, as I find she is able to interpret your feedback and the skills to make appropriate adjustments and fine-tune hearing aids to provide the best possible hearing solution. Alison is patient, understanding, explains everything, and makes you feel at ease and I have no hesitation in recommending her services to anybody seeking professional care for their hearing loss.” – Ted

A hearing test can pick up changes in your hearing early, often before you notice them yourself. Untreated hearing loss can make conversations harder, affect confidence, and impact your overall health. Regular testing helps you stay connected with the people and activities you enjoy.

Hearing Aids — Includes fitting, adjustment, trial periods, discussion of different styles/models, technology levels, follow-ups.

Tinnitus Management — Help for people who experience ringing, buzzing or other sounds in the ears/head when no external sound source is present.

Custom-Made Ear Plugs — For musicians, swimmers (including children with grommets), industrial noise, and other specialised noise protection.

Pensioner / Veteran / Eligible Subsidies & Free Services — Diagnostic tests and hearing aid advice at no cost for pensioners & veterans under government-funded programs; access to subsidised or fully funded devices; “free-to-client” options.

Pre-employment Hearing Tests — For roles that require certain hearing levels (emergency services, police, etc.).

Aviation Hearing Tests — Tests that comply with aviation licence requirements.

WorkCover Hearing Services — Assessments and hearing solutions for work-related hearing issues or claims.

After-Hours & Home Visits — By arrangement for people who can’t make it to the clinic during usual hours.

There are many hundreds of hearing aids on the market in Australia, and it can be difficult to know which are going to be the best for you. There is no single ‘best’ hearing aid. What is best for one person might not be best for another person. Considerations such as:

• Cosmetic appeal
• Personal preference
• Cost
• Ease of use
• Comfort
• Battery size/hearing aid size
• Cleaning and maintenance
• Use with glasses
• Ease of phone use
• Amount of amplification required
• Type of hearing loss
• Anti-whistling technology
• Noise reduction technology
• Sound quality for speech and music
• Fine-tuning and adjustment options
• Bluetooth compatibility with iPhones and android phones
• Rechargeability
• Availability of apps to control the hearing aids

All have a bearing on the hearing aid/s recommended by me. I consider all of these factors when making recommendations about hearing aids.

Each hearing aid is expertly fitted and fine-tuned and reviewed through the trial period. Some manufacturers have special ‘trial’ hearing aids, which can be programmed to differing levels of technology, and which are available at our clinic. This simplifies the comparison.

Hearing aids are available in many different styles:

Invisible-in-the-Canal (IIC): These are the smallest, most deeply-fitting hearing aids.Electronics contained in plastic casing made in shape of your ear canal. Cosmetically attractive, and taking advantage of outer ear cues to enhance hearing in noise. Very small battery (size 10). May be wireless (communicating with remote controls, bluetooth devices, mobile phones, etc). Suitable for people with mild or moderate hearing loss.

Completely-in-the-Canal (CIC):Also cosmetically attractive, the electronics are contained in plastic casing made in shape of your ear canal. Very small battery (size 10). May be wireless (communicating with remote controls, bluetooth devices, mobile phones, etc). Can have large air vents to reduce occlusion. Can have button on hearing aid to over-ride the automatic volume adjustment. Suitable for people with mild, moderate or severe hearing loss.

Receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) with dome/custom tip: Very cosmetically attractive, and very popular. A small behind the ear case contains most of the electronics, with a thin wire to the ear piece containing a tiny speaker. Ear piece can be custom-made ear tip or a silicon dome. Often a very open dome is used, reducing any occlusion/blocked feeling for the wearer. Sizes vary, from those with very small battery (size 10), or larger battery (size 312 or 13). Suitable for people with mild, moderate, severe and profound hearing loss. Especially suited to people with high-pitched hearing losses and good low-pitched hearing. Typically wireless (communicating with remote controls, bluetooth devices, mobile phones etc). May be rechargeable.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) with slim tube and dome/custom tip: Similar in looks to a RIC aid.Also very cosmetically attractive. All electronics are contained in the behind the ear case. Amplified sound travels down a thin tube to the ear piece. Ear piece can be custom-made ear tip or a silicon dome. Often a very open dome is used, reducing any occlusion/blocked feeling for the wearer. Sizes vary, and battery sizes are either 312, or larger (size 13, or size 675). Typically very reliable hearing aids as electronics are away from wax, moisture in ear canal. Especially suited to people with high-pitched hearing losses and good low-pitched hearing. Typically wireless (communicating with remote controls, bluetooth devices, mobile phones etc). May be rechargeable.
Behind-the-ear (BTE) with earmould: All electronics are contained in the behind the ear case. Sound travels down a tube to a custom-made earmould. Battery is either 312 or larger (size 13 or size 675). Typically very reliable hearing aids as electronics are away from wax, moisture in ear canal. Often the most suitable style for people with severe or profound hearing loss. Typically wireless (communicating with remote controls, bluetooth devices, mobile phones etc). May be rechargeable.

Special hearing aids:
CROS/BiCROS: People with severe or profound hearing loss in one ear, that is considered ‘unaidable’ may benefit from CROS or BiCROS hearing aids. With these hearing aids, sounds are picked up by a microphone on the poor ear and transmitted wirelessly to the better ear. This increases the ability of the wearer to hear sounds on their poor side. CROS hearing aids are used when there is no hearing loss in the better ear, BiCROS hearing aids are used when there is also a hearing loss in the better ear. CROS/BiCROS hearing aids are available in a variety of styles including ITC, BTE and RIC.

It is important to determine whether or not hearing is ‘unaidable’. My approach typically involves trialling a hearing aid in the worse ear initially, prior to trialling CROS/BiCROS. There are advantages in wearing hearing aids in both ears if possible, as there are additional cues such as localisation that are only possible with hearing in both ears.

Bone conduction hearing aids: For people who cannot wear typical hearing aids, due to absence of ear canal or outer ear (atresia, microtresia) or chronic ear infections or surgery to the ear and which preclude the use of a hearing aid in the ear canal. These can be mounted on a headband or in the arms of spectacles. These transmit the amplified sound directly to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear.

Hearing aids can be quite expensive.

The hearing aids we fit are ‘bundled’ so that the price of the hearing aids includes:

• All fitting, review and repair appointments for the warranty period of the hearing aid (typically three years).
• Box of 60 premium batteries.
• Dri-aid jar and battery tester.
• Loaner hearing aids, which are available should your hearing aid need to be sent for servicing or repair.

The hearing aids we fit range in price from $2700/pair ($1350 per hearing aid) to $9,000/ pair ($4500 per hearing aid). I fit hearing aids from all 9 Australian manufacturers.

We are registered with Health Insurers, and therefore rebates may apply for people with Health Insurance Extras cover. Hearing aid prices vary depending on the manufacturer, and also largely depending on the processing technology.

Typically, well-fitted good quality lower cost hearing aids are very good for listening in quiet situations, when watching TV and using the phone. They are also helpful in group situations and where there is background noise. The more advanced hearing aids aim to further reduce background noise and detect when there is music to automatically adjust the amplification as appropriate.

We often recommend that a person trials lower-end hearing aids to determine whether these are satisfactory. In many instances, these prove to be almost as good as top-end hearing aids.

We believe that it is important to trial hearing aids in your everyday life for enough time to make a reasonable decision about them. It can take a little while to get used to the amplification, and sometimes this needs to be adjusted during the trial.

This extra time and effort in adjusting the hearing aids or trialling several hearing aids leads to better long-term outcomes.

Our trials are for 14 days and hearing aids are able to be returned.

If no hearing aids are kept, there is a small fee towards the expenses incurred.

Clients who are concerned that their hearing aid/s may not be working optimally are able to attend a hearing aid evaluation appointment, for testing, advice and possible adjustments to their hearing aid settings.

We are able to repair hearing aids from all of the main companies.
Many repairs such as speaker replacement, wax clearance and battery door replacement are completed using my well-equipped repair facility. More complex repairs are sent back to the manufacturer.

During the time you are without your hearing aid, we are able to provide you with a loaner hearing aid until yours has returned from repair.

Under this scheme, funding is provided for people with a hearing loss who meet residency and hours of work requirements and who are assessed as requiring accessories (including hearing aid accessories) in order to carry out their work.

Examples of accessories that have been funded under this scheme are:

• Bluetooth streamers
• TV adaptors
• Telephone adaptors
• FM/remote microphone systems
• Paging and alerting systems
• Funding is also available for Auslan interpreters, and for workplace education about hearing impairment.

We can assist in the application for funding under the scheme.

A comprehensive hearing test is performed to determine your hearing levels and to assess whether your hearing is within the normal range. This includes assessments of the clarity of speech and middle ear tests. One hour is generally enough time to complete an adult hearing test. During this time your hearing test results will be explained and you will have the opportunity to have any questions answered.

If the test result shows a hearing loss, a full range of options and next steps will be discussed.

Diagnostic hearing tests and advice regarding management options are available at no charge for pensioners and veterans.
The Hearing Services Program (HSP) is the scheme funded by the Commonwealth Government to provide hearing services and devices (hearing aids, and/or other devices such as headphones for the TV) to eligible people.

Those who are eligible:

• a Pensioner Concession Card holder
• a person receiving Sickness Allowance from Centrelink
• a dependent of a person in one of the above categories
• a person referred by the Disability Employment Services (Disability Management Services) Program or
• a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant with hearing needs, referred by a planner from the National
• Disability Insurance Agency
• To check if you are eligible, and for more information, visit the Office of Hearing Services website:www.hearingservices.gov.au.

You can apply on-line for a ‘voucher’ to access these services. Alternatively, you can contact me. I can apply online on your behalf, and print the medical clearance certificate required. This can be done on or prior to your first appointment.

Under the HSP scheme, funding is provided for a thorough diagnostic hearing assessment. Funding is also available for hearing aids or assistive listening devices (eg, wireless headphones for the TV) as appropriate. Many modern and advanced digital hearing aids are funded completely (called “Free-To-Client” hearing aids). Alternatively, people can choose to contribute to the cost of “Top-Up” hearing aids which have more sophisticated processing. Private Health Insurance Extras cover may cover some of the “Top-Up” cost.

Many different “Free-To-Client” hearing aid styles are available: completely-in-the-canal, in-the-canal, in-the-ear, behind-the-ear with an earmould, behind-the-ear with thin tube and dome tip, depending on the manufacturer. I select hearing aids from many different manufacturers in order to find the best hearing aid style and features for you. Very often the “Free-To-Client” hearing aids give a very good outcome. Several appointments are required in order to select, fit and fine-tune the hearing aids.

HSP offers funded maintenance of the hearing aids (including batteries and other items, repairs as required, etc), with an annual contribution by the client. Whilst this is not mandatory, it represents very good value. At Alison Hennessy Audiology, this client contribution is the same, regardless of whether the hearing aids are “Free-To-Client’ or “Top-Up”.

Alison Hennessy Audiology
444 Mitcham Road, Mitcham, VIC. 3132
(Mitcham Health Centre is just a 10 minute drive from Eastlink or the Eastern Freeway)