Our History

Welcome to Ontario Hearing Instruments/Audiology Associates. We have been proudly and compassionately serving hard of hearing and deaf individuals in the city of Rochester, the surrounding suburbs and rural counties since we opened our first office in 1956. We have made a commitment and a conscious effort to provide quality service and products to patients in our main offices as well as at-home, to those who are home-bound or who live a distance from our office. Our mission has remained unwavering.

When we opened our doors in 1956, we were staffed solely by hearing aid dispensers. We were the exclusive distributors of a hearing aid made by a manufacturer named Otarion. After many years, Otarion closed its doors and rather than confuse patients with a new name, the owners felt it was appropriate to incorporate the great Lake Ontario into the new name of its business. Hence the current name, Ontario Hearing Instruments. Initially, we had two dispensers who worked exclusively in the office and one dispenser who traveled to the rural counties.

Throughout several years of growth, two more dispensers were added to the staff, and the territory that could be serviced broadened significantly (see current locations). As the years progressed, the changing face of audiology and hearing aid dispensing was clearly being illuminated. Thus,to keep up with the changes and to offer our patients the best possible services available, the first audiologist was hired in 1988. Within two years, the audiologist purchased the business from the previous owners with a goal of broadening the scope of practice to include diagnostic testing as well as hearing aid services and accessories. The additional name of Audiology Associates was added at that time. Presently, the business is staffed by three audiologists and two hearing aid dispensers.

In 2000, we added a second office in a medical facility, at Lifetime Health in Irondequoit, which is staffed by one of the audiologists, Andrea Segmond,Au.D. and in 2006 we opened a third office in the Gates region at 785A Spencerport Rd, managed by Steven E. Schmaltz, HIS. Consistent with our initial mission, we continue to see patients not only in our offices but in their homes as well.