Effective Date: 01/01/2008
Last Updated: 08/01/2026

At House of Hearing Inc. , we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. As a family-owned and operated hearing care practice serving our community for more than 58 years, we value the trust our patients, families, and website visitors place in us.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and share information obtained through our website, by phone, electronically, and in connection with our hearing healthcare services.

We may collect information that you voluntarily provide to us, including:

• Name
• Mailing address
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Date of birth
• Appointment requests
• Hearing-related questions or concerns
• Audiograms or hearing test information
• Insurance information
• Payment or billing information
• Information submitted through website forms
• Communications you send to our office by email, text message, phone, or other electronic means

Because we provide hearing healthcare services, some information we receive may be considered Protected Health Information ("PHI") under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA") and other applicable healthcare privacy laws.

We may use information we collect to:

• Schedule and manage appointments
• Provide hearing evaluations, hearing aid services, fittings, programming, repairs, follow-up care, and related services
• Respond to questions and requests
• Communicate with you regarding your care
• Process payments and insurance claims
• Maintain patient records
• Provide customer service
• Send appointment reminders
• Provide product, service, warranty, or repair information
• Improve our website and services
• Comply with legal, regulatory, and professional obligations
• Protect the safety, rights, and security of our patients, staff, business, and website

We do not sell your medical information.

When information qualifies as Protected Health Information under HIPAA, we handle that information in accordance with applicable federal and state healthcare privacy laws.

Our use and disclosure of PHI may also be governed by our separate Notice of Privacy Practices, which explains in greater detail how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you may access that information.

If there is any conflict between this website Privacy Policy and our Notice of Privacy Practices regarding PHI, the Notice of Privacy Practices will control.

A copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices is available upon request at our office.

Our website may allow you to submit appointment requests, questions, contact information, audiograms, or other information.

Please understand that ordinary email, website forms, and text messages may not always be encrypted or completely secure. Although we use reasonable safeguards, you should avoid sending highly sensitive medical or financial information through unsecured electronic communications unless specifically instructed to do so.

Submitting information through our website does not create a provider-patient relationship until you have been accepted as a patient by our practice.

If you provide a mobile telephone number, we may use it to communicate with you regarding:

• Appointments
• Scheduling
• Hearing aid orders
• Repairs
• Follow-up services
• Office updates
• Other service-related communications

Message and data rates may apply.

You may request that we stop sending non-essential text messages at any time by replying STOP or contacting our office.

We do not sell or share mobile telephone numbers with third parties for their independent marketing purposes.

Our website may use cookies, analytics tools, pixels, or similar technologies to understand how visitors use our website.

These technologies may collect information such as:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address
• Browser type
• Device type
• Pages visited
• Time spent on pages
• Referring website
• General geographic location
• Website interaction information

We may use this information to improve website performance, understand visitor behavior, troubleshoot problems, and improve our services.

You may be able to disable cookies through your browser settings. However, some website features may not function properly if cookies are disabled.

We may use trusted third-party service providers to assist us with business functions such as:

• Website hosting
• Appointment scheduling
• Electronic health records
• Payment processing
• Email communications
• Text messaging
• Data storage
• Website analytics
• Accounting
• Insurance billing
• Hearing aid manufacturing, programming, warranty, or repair services

These service providers are permitted to access information only as reasonably necessary to perform services on our behalf and are expected to protect information in accordance with applicable law.

Where required by HIPAA, we enter into appropriate Business Associate Agreements with vendors that handle Protected Health Information on our behalf.

In providing hearing aid services, we may share necessary information with hearing aid manufacturers, laboratories, repair facilities, warranty providers, or other hearing healthcare service partners.

Information may be shared when necessary to:

• Order hearing aids or accessories
• Program hearing aids
• Process repairs
• Process warranty claims
• Process loss and damage claims
• Provide remote hearing aid support
• Provide manufacturer-related services

We limit disclosures to information reasonably necessary for the applicable service.

If you make a payment through our website or another electronic payment system, payment information may be processed by a third-party payment processor.

We do not store complete credit card numbers on our own website servers unless specifically stated otherwise.

Payment processors maintain their own privacy and security practices.

We may disclose personal information when reasonably necessary:

• To provide healthcare or hearing aid services
• To process billing or insurance
• To service hearing aids or warranties
• To comply with applicable laws
• To respond to subpoenas, court orders, or lawful government requests
• To protect our rights, patients, employees, or property
• To investigate suspected fraud, misuse, or security incidents
• With your authorization
• As otherwise permitted or required by HIPAA or other applicable law

We do not sell Protected Health Information.

We do not sell your personal information to data brokers.

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

These safeguards may include:

• Password protections
• Access controls
• Secure recordkeeping systems
• Staff confidentiality policies
• Vendor security requirements
• Encryption where appropriate
• Physical safeguards at our offices

However, no website, electronic transmission, or information storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

We retain personal and medical information for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide services
• Maintain patient records
• Meet legal and regulatory requirements
• Resolve disputes
• Maintain business and accounting records
• Enforce agreements

Medical record retention periods may be governed by federal and state healthcare laws.

Depending on the type of information involved and applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Request access to certain personal or medical information
• Request corrections to inaccurate information
• Request restrictions on certain uses or disclosures of PHI
• Request confidential communications
• Request an accounting of certain disclosures
• Obtain a copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices
• Withdraw certain authorizations
• Ask questions about our privacy practices

Certain rights regarding medical information are described more fully in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

To exercise your rights, please contact our office using the information below.

Our website is not intended to collect personal information directly from children under the age of 13 without the involvement of a parent or legal guardian.

When we provide hearing healthcare services to minors, information is handled in accordance with applicable healthcare and parental-consent laws.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including hearing aid manufacturers, payment providers, social media platforms, or other resources.