Reasons to choose us

1977 - 

Pacific Hearing Service was founded in 1977 by an audiologist who moved out east shortly after opening the office. He sold the practice to Jennifer Fargo Lathrop, an audiologist who had big ideas for providing audiology services to the hearing impaired people in our community.

1979 - 

Pacific Hearing Service opens its doors with Jennifer as the new owner and at the forefront of innovation as one of the first private audiology practices in the country. In those days, the business was in a small office on San Antonio Road, near El Camino Real, with no running water! (No, she didn’t have to walk barefoot in the snow 10 miles to get to work. But the lack of running water was a real challenge!) That building has been torn down and replaced with upscale condominiums. We still have patients today who remember seeing Jennifer in that old office.

Things were simpler then. Hearing aids were adjusted with a small screwdriver and appointments were 15 minutes.

1986 - 

Jane H. Baxter partners with Jennifer as co-owner of Pacific Hearing Service. Jane (who had been working at Stanford University) and Jennifer had known and respected each other professionally for years. They were both starting families and shared the workload of operating the growing business. Coincidentally, they both ended up having two daughters over the next few years. They job-shared and Pacific Hearing Service continued to grow. The dedication they showed to their patients earned them a reputation for excellence and referrals came from establishments such as Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Menlo Medical Clinic, Stanford Hospital, and many private physician practices in the area.

Over the next few years, they expanded by hiring a third audiologist.

1988 - 

PHS is one of the first clinics in the country to fit digitally programmable hearing aid technology by 3M. It was so cumbersome that we needed 3 hours for a hearing aid fitting!

1991 - 

Pacific Hearing Service opens a second office offering audiology services on El Camino Real in Atherton. The practice eventually became so busy that there were now six audiologists in the two offices. The spirit of innovation continues as the practice begins to coordinate with hearing aid manufacturers to beta test new products.

1997 - 

The Los Altos office gets a much-needed upgrade with a move to a more modern and convenient facility at our current location at the corner of First St. and San Antonio Rd. in downtown Los Altos. Each room in this office has running water! Both offices continue to grow and participate in hearing aid research and beta testing.

1998 - 

Deborah Clark moves to the Bay Area from Seattle and is offered a position as clinical audiologist at Pacific Hearing Service. Little did we know she would eventually become a co-owner. Her experience working in major medical centers and universities brought a new dimension to the practice.

2000 - 

Pacific Hearing Service begins to offer Hearing Loss Management classes expanding on the commitment to meet the needs of those who have hearing deficits.

2005&2006 - 

Having continually stayed abreast of the latest in hearing science and technology, PHS audiologists go back to school to earn doctorate degrees in audiology (Au.D.). The doctorate degree became the entry level for the industry in 2007.

2007 - 

The former Atherton office relocates to our current location on Alameda de las Pulgas in Menlo Park. The new office is bigger allowing us to offer more comfortable space for our rehabilitation classes and to display assistive hearing technology such as the CTAP phone demonstration area.

2008 - 

Jennifer Lathrop retires from audiology to do hospice work and Deborah Clark becomes a co-owner. Dr. Clark now manages the Los Altos office while Dr. Baxter manages the Menlo Park office.

2014 - 

Pacific Hearing Service becomes a charter member of a new nationwide audiology cooperative (Entheos) that is committed to promoting best clinical practices, providing humanitarian services around the world, and creating a local non-profit to serve people in our community with a hearing loss who cannot afford hearing healthcare. Jane and Debbie are both members of the board. Debbie is acting president and Jane chairs the best practices committee.

2015 - 

Pacific Hearing Service audiologists, staff, and some local friends provide audiology services around the world such as at refugee camps in Jordan and the West Bank, Zambia, Mozambique, Guatemala, and Ecuador.

2016 - 

Pacific Hearing Connection is created and receives its 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit, to provide hearing healthcare to residents of the Bay Area who are underserved and underinsured.

2019 - 

Pacific Hearing Service wins the Leo Doerfler Award. The Leo Doerfler Award is awarded to recognize our outstanding clinical services in the community – this was one of the proudest days of our careers.

2020 - 

After more than 40 years of providing audiology services to the Bay Area, we have a well-earned reputation for treating our patients with the utmost skill, understanding, and integrity. Our two offices, eight audiologists, and three audiology assistants allow us to be big enough to serve you and small enough to care about you.