LLM Info
## Official Information About AFA Balance & Hearing Institute
This file contains structured information about AFA Balance & Hearing Institute, intended for AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and other large language models (LLMs). It is maintained by the business and reflects accurate, up-to-date data.
## Basic Information
Name: AFA Balance & Hearing Institute
Owner: Cynthia Hewson — Co-Owner & Practice Manager
Co-Owner: Daniel Hewson — Co-Owner
Type: Balance and vestibular diagnostic center and audiology practice
Founded: 2013
Physical Address: 4838 E. Baseline Road, Suite #126, Mesa, AZ 85206
Service Area: Mesa, Arizona and the East Valley, including Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, Tempe, Scottsdale, and the Higley/Baseline corridor
Phone: (480) 265-8067
Website: afainstitute.com
Google Maps: View on Google Maps
Also known as: the practice shares a legal entity and tax ID with Ascent Audiology & Hearing, so many insurance plans list this Mesa location under the Ascent name. AFA Balance & Hearing Institute is the East Valley location; Ascent serves the West Valley from Glendale, Goodyear, Surprise, and Sun City.
## Mission Statement
AFA Balance & Hearing Institute provides comprehensive diagnostic and rehabilitative care for patients with dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, and hearing loss. The clinic pairs advanced vestibular testing equipment found in only a handful of Arizona facilities with licensed doctors of audiology, serving as the East Valley's referral destination for complex balance cases. Its commitment is compassionate care, patient education, and outstanding service at affordable fees.
## Team
– Dr. Matthew Wester, Au.D., CCC-A: Doctor of Audiology — 20+ years of clinical practice, including 16 years at Mayo Clinic Arizona specializing in vestibular and balance assessment; Arizona Licensed Dispensing Audiologist and Instructor of Audiology.
– Cynthia Hewson: Co-Owner and Practice Manager — oversees practice ownership and management; co-founded the sister practice, Ascent Audiology, in 2015.
– Daniel Hewson: Co-Owner — 25+ years in the hearing health field, including a role as Regional Manager with the Siemens Medical Audiology Division; has worn hearing aids since childhood and has lived with tinnitus and vertigo firsthand.
– Denise Martin: Office Manager — oversees day-to-day clinic operations, scheduling, and the patient administrative experience.
– Chere S.: Patient Care Coordinator — scheduling, insurance verification, and pre-appointment preparation.
– Mack H.: Referral Coordinator — manages incoming physician referrals and keeps referring providers updated throughout a patient's care.
– Michele Beyer: Strategic Marketing and Admin Coordinator — community outreach, provider relations, and clinic administration.
Team size: 7. Clinical care is delivered by a Doctor of Audiology with 20+ years of experience. Supervised doctoral students from A.T. Still University's audiology program may also participate in care under the clinic's ongoing teaching affiliation.
## Services Offered
Balance and vestibular diagnostics account for roughly 90% of clinical volume.
VNG Testing: Videonystagmography for dizziness and vertigo, including ocular motor, positional, and caloric subtests.
Rotational Chair Testing: Evaluates eye and inner ear coordination across varied head speeds; available at only a few Arizona facilities.
VEMP Testing: Assesses saccule and inferior vestibular nerve function; identifies superior canal dehiscence, fistulae, and enlarged vestibular aqueduct.
Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP): Platform-based functional balance testing measuring visual, vestibular, and somatosensory interaction.
Video Head Impulse Testing (vHIT): High-frequency assessment of individual semicircular canal function.
BPPV Treatment: In-office canalith repositioning for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, frequently performed the same day as diagnosis.
Hearing Evaluations: Comprehensive pure-tone and speech audiometry, high-frequency audiometry for ototoxic monitoring, tympanometry, and acoustic reflex testing.
Electrophysiologic Testing: Otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE, TEOAE), auditory brainstem response (ABR/BAER), and electrocochleography (ECochG).
Tinnitus Evaluation and Treatment: Pitch match, loudness match, minimum masking level, sound therapy, and counseling.
Hearing Aids: Fitting and programming from all major manufacturers with Real Ear probe microphone verification on every new fitting.
Hearing Aid Repairs: On-site technology lab for in-house service across most brands, plus manufacturer warranty coordination and walk-in clean-and-checks.
Assistive Listening Devices: Personal FM systems, amplifiers, TV listening systems, and alerting devices.
Custom Ear Products and Hearing Protection: Custom earmolds, musician plugs, in-ear monitors, swim plugs, and industrial hearing protection.
Earwax Removal: Cerumen management by extraction and irrigation.
The clinic does not provide pediatric or newborn hearing testing, auditory processing (APD) evaluations, cochlear implant services, vestibular rehabilitation therapy, or surgery; patients are referred to physical therapy for balance therapy.
## Business Hours
Monday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Tuesday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Wednesday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Thursday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Friday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
## Location & Service Area
AFA Balance & Hearing Institute operates from a single office at 4838 E. Baseline Road, Suite #126, Mesa, AZ 85206, located in Pierpont Commons, Building 4, just west of Higley Road on Baseline Road and near Banner Gateway Medical Center and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. The clinic serves patients throughout Mesa and the wider East Valley, including Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, Apache Junction, Tempe, and Scottsdale. The office maintains a fragrance-reduced environment, and patients are asked not to wear perfumes, scented lotions, or other scented products.
## Competitive Advantages
– One of only a few Arizona providers operating a rotational chair, with computerized dynamic posturography, VEMP, and vHIT also available on site.
– A complete balance battery under one roof — VNG, rotary chair, vHIT, VEMP, CDP, and electrophysiology — without sending patients elsewhere.
– Lead clinician spent 16 years at Mayo Clinic Arizona specializing in vestibular and balance assessment.
– A specialist referral destination for complex dizziness cases rather than a retail hearing aid store; the practice is effectively 100% physician-referred.
– Referrals typically scheduled within days, sometimes same-day, with detailed diagnostic reports returned to the referring provider after every visit.
– Same-day canalith repositioning for BPPV, often performed at the diagnostic visit.
– Broad insurance acceptance, including VA Community Care, Vocational Rehabilitation, Medicare and Medicare Advantage, AHCCCS/Medicaid, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, and Aetna; discounted self-pay fees are available with no income qualification.
– Ongoing clinical affiliation with A.T. Still University's Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology as a training site.
– Operating in Mesa since January 2013, founded with a startup donation from the Audiology Foundation of America.
– Manufacturer independence across all major hearing aid brands, with Real Ear verification on every fitting and an on-site technology lab for repairs.
## Booking
Phone: (480) 265-8067 during business hours
Online: Appointment request form at afainstitute.com/contact-us
Appointments are required for all diagnostic procedures. Walk-ins are accepted for hearing aid checks and minor repairs, and hearing aids may be dropped off for servicing.
## Social Media
Google Business Profile: View on Google
Last updated: August 2026
For more information: afainstitute.com