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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
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Hearing is a critically important part of how we communicate and experience the world around us. Sounds like birds singing and the voices of people we love bring joy to our lives. But for those who struggle to follow a conversation because certain words are unintelligible, or people who experience an annoying ringing in their ears, hearing clearly can be a challenge.
Since 1978, Kendall Audiology has been committed to providing full-service hearing care to patients of all ages, from newborns to centenarians. Dr. Daisy Elwick and her team of licensed professionals specialize in services such as adult and pediatric audiology, advanced hearing screenings and state-of-the-art hearing aid technology to speakers of English and Spanish.
Many of the practice’s patients come in because they’re having difficulty understanding conversations or they report struggling to hear clearly or not hearing certain sounds at all, such as a ringing phone or an alarm. Over the years, Dr. Elwick has seen an increase in people with tinnitus, a common problem characterized by ringing in the ears.
“Tinnitus can be a result of various other health conditions so it’s important to have it assessed by an audiologist regardless of the severity,” she explains. “There are more tools available to help treat tinnitus, so while there’s no real cure for it, there are options to make the symptoms better.”
Many manufacturers have designed effective tinnitus maskers into their hearing aids to allow treatment of both hearing loss and the tinnitus simultaneously. Signia offers an additional feature using notch therapy for people with tonal tinnitus. It works without using masking but instead amplifies all of the necessary sounds except for any that fall within the tinnitus range.
Kendall Audiology offers in-person visits using staggered appointment times to limit the number of people in the space at one time, placing HEPA filtered air purifiers in each office and routinely sanitizing between each patient encounter. The firm has also adopted new ways to deliver its services, such as offering virtual consultations to patients in the comfort of their home.
“Due to the pandemic, we have equipped ourselves with the tools to perform telehealth services,” says Dr. Elwick. “For example, most hearing aid systems are compatible with smartphones. Using today’s technology, we can connect a patient’s hearing aids to our programming software through an app on their cell phone and make necessary adjustments to the patient’s hearing instruments.”
Dr. Elwick became an audiologist by chance while studying speech pathology at California State University in Los Angeles. Fascinated by how health care and technology blended together and how different types of hearing loss could be treated, she went on to earn a doctorate in audiology at the University of Florida.
One of the things Dr. Elwick is most excited about is the cognitive screening tools that Kendall Audiology administers as part of its comprehensive hearing examinations for all adult patients. “Over time, even a mild hearing loss left untreated can result in poor word recognition or speech understanding, memory decline and social isolation, all of which can have countless repercussions on a person’s lifestyle,” she says. “These tools help us personalize each patient’s treatment plan to provide the most benefit.”
She is proud that Kendall Audiology works closely with federal and state vocational rehabilitation programs that help people with physical or mental disabilities to get or keep a job. The practice has helped many patients through its affiliation with Simply Healthcare and also helps facilitate worker’s compensation claims through its other contracts.
While hearing aids can be expensive, Dr. Elwick has a plan for that as well. “Our goal is to help our patients overcome any financial barriers to getting treatment,” she says. “Kendall Audiology offers a variety of payment options including a 12 month interest-free payment plan through Care Credit. We also offer a unique leasing program for patients who prefer to wear the most current technology for a low monthly fee.”
“We also get a lot of patients coming in for hearing protection. People are more aware of the detrimental effects of loud sounds on their hearing. Musicians, workers in high-noise industries and recreational shooters are interested in customized ear plugs for noise protection, which we can provide. It’s a small but worthwhile investment to safeguard one’s hearing,” she says.
“Being able to change lives is the most gratifying thing I’ve ever experienced,” says Dr. Elwick. “My team and I dedicate ourselves to providing the best solutions for our patients’ needs. I’d like to invite anyone with hearing concerns to contact us so we can work on their solution.”
Kendall Audiology & Hearing Aid Center is located at 9900 SW 107th Avenue, Suite 202, Miami, FL 33176. For more information, please visit www.theaudiologyctr.com or call 305-595-1530.
