I had been functioning poorly as a teacher, missing crucial bits of student questions, functioning poorly too in conversations at home, drifting through misunderstood TV programmes and pretending to laugh at jokes with friends. “Time to move on to serious quality hearing aids” my wife said. I approached one chain offering such hearing aids at a discounted price. The next few weeks were a huge disappointment with inadequate measurement and fitting and a run of cancelled appointments which infuriated me after a large expenditure and little obvious benefit. I switched to Alex Eaves at the Worcester Hearing Centre. He offered me the same quality hearing aids but without the discount. The improvement was immediate. He also recognised that I had a serious fungal infection in both ears, one that was casually passed over by my previous audiologist. He thoroughly cleaned them and removed wax in my ears before analysing the frequencies for which my hearing was deficient. He provided pictures for my GP to prescribe a spray for the complete eradication of the infection. The process took a little while, but my hearing improved every time I saw him, with no deterioration in-between visits. Alex was flexible with appointments to suit my timetable. There was never a question of him not being able to accommodate me, no late cancellations, or prolonged waits for a new appointment. He was able to meet all my needs without bringing in some ‘specialist’, he was competent in all procedures. Had I called in completely on spec he assured me that other staff were fully trained to help. The atmosphere at the Centre was relaxed, but professional. The staff were warm and friendly throughout. Alex recognised me whenever I appeared, and was fully cognisant of where we were in my progress. His manner was always confident with a way of keeping me informed at each step with whatever he was doing. I would strongly recommend Alex and the Worcester Hearing Centre to anyone with hearing needs. A quality hearing aid is of no use without a quality team to support it.