About Us

Rick Usifer has been helping people hear better for over 30 years. He earned his master’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Connecticut in 1988, and has worked in medical practices as well as hearing aid dispensing offices. He is licensed in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and is board certified by the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences.

Rick has extensive experience in all aspects of hearing care, including testing, counseling, digital hearing aid fitting and customer care. He is also an examiner for the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health and past president of the Connecticut Hearing Aid Dispenser’s Organization. As a hearing aid wearer himself, Rick fully understands and appreciates how hearing affects overall health and wellness. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Raisa, who is an educational audiologist.

Ronni Mathews, M.S. joins Hearing Balance and Speech, with over 17 years' experience as an Audiologist in the Waterbury, CT area. Ronni earned her MS in Audiology at SUNY New Paltz.

Ronni grew up in Yorktown, NY, but now lives in Central Connecticut with her two children. She has a strong passion for improving the quality of life for children and adults in regards to their hearing. Ronni takes pride in finding and fitting the right hearing aid for each of her patients. She is determined to make sure that they understand and know how much their hearing can improve with the guidance of an expert Audiologist. In her spare time, Ronni loves being with her family and scrapbooking. She also volunteers as a Girl Scout troop leader and as a board member for her town’s Scout Service Unit.

Maria Hacker joined the Hearing Life team in September 2020. She received her master’s degree in audiology from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 2000 and a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from the City University of New York at Queen’s College in 1998. As a state licensed audiologist, she has spent the past 20 years providing the highest quality of hearing healthcare to the residents of the state of Connecticut. Maria takes pride in making sure that everyone that walks through the doors of our clinic receives the highest quality care and personalized attention is given to each person to help them to achieve the best hearing possible using the most advanced technology available in the industry.  Maria was born and raised in Bronx, NY but currently resides in Naugatuck, CT with her husband and two daughters. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteer work within the community, reading, cooking, and exercising as a certified SoulCore Leader.