Rav Moshe Feinstein זצ”ל would address his rabbinical querents as “הרב הגאון”. This was his custom for whatever reason. One פוסק who did not engage in such generous language was R’ Seligman Baer (Isaac Dov ha-Levi) Bamberger, i.e., the Würzburger Rav זצ”ל. If you look at his halachic responsa, he addresses his querents plainly as רבי or רב.
Has it gotten out of hand? Perhaps. In Sefer Mishlei, we read זֵכֶר צַדִּיק לִבְרָכָה, but now we have taken it on ourselves to expand the expression to זצוק”ל or even זצוקללה”ה. Good enough for Shelomo ha-Melech, not good enough for us.
Not only the Chasidim but the Litvaks as well sometimes took this took an extreme. There was a commentary on מס’ קידושין my מגיד שיעור learned with us back in post-high school bes medrash. The author had been a pupil of R’ Chaim Brisker זצ”ל. In the introduction, he wrote a more-than-ten-line blandishment without even mentioning his sainted teacher’s actual name.