Live Better Hearing

Kristen Hood, Au.D., received her undergraduate degree from Towson University and her Doctorate in Audiology from West Virginia University. She completed her residency at the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV. Dr. Hood joined Live Better Hearing in July of 2018 and specializes in hearing aid evaluations and fittings.

Born with a hearing loss, Dr. Hood enjoys sharing her experiences with others and helping others receive the best quality hearing healthcare. She also loves getting to know her patients and developing long term relationships with them. Dr. Hood is passionate about raising awareness of the field of audiology and had her graduate thesis work titled “Audiology Awareness of Undecided College Students” published in The Hearing Journal. She is licensed by the Virginia Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology and holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Dr. Hood resides with her husband and rescued kitty (Yukon) in Middletown, Maryland, just outside of Frederick. She enjoys boating, exercising, traveling, and most of all, trying new restaurants.

Ashly Wilcox is an audiology resident at Live Better Hearing + Balance from Central Michigan University. Ashly chose Audiology because she's always had a passion for helping others. She loves that audiology allows her to get to know patients on an individual level. It also gives her opportunities to think "out of the box" when it comes to problem-solving and finding a solution that best fits someone's life. She is an avid lover of learning. When it comes to Audiology, the profession is continually improving and growing, which allows her to do the same. Her capstone project was a research study that consisted of researching the Effect Varying Signal to Noise Ratios and Reverberation Times has on a Listeners' Speech Perception with a Mild to Severe Sensorineural Hearing Loss. She received a research grant, the Herbert H. & Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions Student Grant, to fund her research.

She has received the J. Dean & Betty L. Eckersley Audiology Scholarship honoring clinical and academic excellence in September 2018 and The Nicholas Redfield Award, recognizing outstanding clinical and academic excellence in September 2019.

In her free time, she loves to sew, knit, and crochet along with playing with her bearded dragon, Mushu. She also likes to hike.