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Achieving Crystal Clear Sound Has Never Been Easier

Whether it’s coming from friends, family, co-workers, television, radio, phone, or any other source, each day is a symphony of spoken communication. These sounds are essential to your ability to do your job, maintain your most important relationships, understand your world, respond to changes in your environment, appreciate a witty remark – the list goes on.

However, if you can’t quite hear what’s going on around you, this flow of information, wisdom, and enjoyment is cut. Even if you can understand “most” of what’s being said, you could still be missing things that matter as much as being able to read every word in a sentence.

Describe your communication needs

Drag the slider below to match your needs.

Quiet Casual Social Active

Drag the slider to match your needs.

Quiet:

The majority of your daily interactions are with a single person, rather than large groups with heavy background noise. You enjoy quiet conversations, infrequent shopping, watching TV, seeing movies, and talking on the phone.

Essential Tiered hearing aids:

  • Amplify the sounds of direct conversation, while noisier backgrounds may still be challenging 
  • Manual adjustment may be required for different types of environments 
  • Still requires the use of your listening effort for most listening environments
  • Convenient rechargeability for a full day of hearing

Casual:

You are occasionally in environments with heavier background noise such as seeing friends or working in an office.  You participate in meetings, small group conversations, intimate restaurant settings, and listen to lectures/sermons from a distance.

Standard Tiered hearing aids:

  • Allows you to hear more clearly in varied environments
  • Transitions between noise environments with occasional manual adjustment 
  • Still requires the use of your listening effort for some listening environments
  • Convenient rechargeability for a full day of hearing

Social:

You have an active lifestyle that places you in a variety of environments throughout the day. This could include attending large group gatherings regularly, frequently eating out at restaurants, attending meetings and celebrations.

Advanced Tiered hearing aids:

  • Help you hear and understand the sounds around you more clearly in most environments
  • Automatically adjust to your surroundings as you transition between multiple environments.
  • Since the device is processing more of the environmental sounds, less listening effort is required giving YOU back more energy
  • Convenient rechargeability for a full day of hearing

Active:

You lead a dynamic lifestyle with frequent trips and travel, a busy social life, and have a work environment that requires many meetings or conferences.  You may also frequent sporting events and concerts along with other listening environments with higher levels of background noise.

Premium tiered hearing aids:

  • Amplify and deliver sound in a way that mimics the most natural listening process
  • Provides optimal customizable settings that are unique to your specific hearing needs
  • Automatic environmental detection to ensure effortless hearing in all situations

Hearing Aid Styles

Receiver in Canal Behind the Ear In the Ear Completely in Canal

Receiver in Canal (RIC)

RIC (receiver in the canal) styles discreetly sit behind the ear and are considered to be more comfortable than other designs. The open design allows for a more natural sound quality.

Related Conditions:

  • Fits a range of hearing losses
  • Connects to your smartphone and other devices
  • Available with rechargeability and Bluetooth connectivity

Behind the Ear (BTE)

As the name suggests, BTE hearing aids sit behind the ear and are slightly larger in size than a RIC hearing aid. BTE hearing aids are connected to an earmold which delivers the sound to the ear canal.

Related Conditions:

  • These durable devices are typically fit to those patients with severe to profound hearing loss
  • They are a good option for those people with limited dexterity
  • Available with rechargeability and Bluetooth connectivity

In the Ear (ITE) or In the Canal (ITC)

Generally speaking, the ITE varieties are most suitable in cases of mild to moderate hearing loss. The size of the device is dependent upon the patient’s ear canal. The variations in size in these devices are accompanied by variations in features such as a directional microphone, manual controls, etc.

Related Conditions:

  • A good choice for those who may have trouble fitting a BTE/RIC style hearing aid
  • Patients with near normal low frequency hearing may experience a “plugged up” feeling known as occlusion
  • Some models may connect to your smartphone for technology integration

Completely in canal (CIC) / Invisible in the canal (IIC)

These hearing aids are placed inside the ear canal, making them the most well-concealed option. Often flesh-toned, these hearing aids blend well with the ear, making them an option for those looking for the most discreet hearing solution.

Related Conditions:

  • Almost invisible to those around you
  • Requires batteries that are changed frequently
  • This style compromises technology integration because of the small design

How Do Hearing Aids Work?

All hearing aids are designed to amplify sound to help patients with hearing loss. No matter which hearing aid you ultimately choose, they all work the same way. They are battery-powered and contain at least one microphone responsible for picking up sound, along with a computer chip that amplifies and processes that sound. From there, a speaker in the device sends a signal to your ear.

Benefits Of Hearing Aids

Your hearing is a primary sense channel that connects you to the world. Doing something about your hearing loss can have effects that are more far-reaching than you might expect.

All these things add up to helping you be more relaxed, more confident, more able to take pleasure in what life has to offer you each day. Imagine what happens when a light is turned on in a dimly-lit room. Indistinct blurs are revealed as objects of beauty, tools, or as cherished mementos. The effect is no less dramatic when your hearing is restored.

Earning power

Would it surprise you to learn that not correcting your hearing problems can cost you as much as $30,000 a year in reduced earnings? In its research, the Better Hearing Institute found that this applied even to those with mild hearing loss.

Dementia and cognitive decline

Untreated hearing loss can increase the chance that you could develop dementia. Over time, your hearing loss can begin to weaken the parts of your brain that are responsible for understanding speech, compounding your difficulties. Fortunately, correcting your hearing can slow this process.

Tinnitus

Are you bothered by constant ringing in your ears? In addition to being irritating, this can contribute to stress. A hearing aid can address this problem.

More colors in the rainbow

You probably don’t know how many sounds have disappeared from your life – birdsong, the wind, laughter, rain, and more. What would it mean to bring them back?

Social interaction

Regain the ability to enjoy interacting with others, whether in personal situations or as part of a group. You may even find you start making new friends due to losing your reluctance to start a conversation.

Choosing the Right Hearing Aid for You

Before selecting a hearing aid in Miami or one of our Southern FL offices, you will first need a medical and audiological examination – both of which can be done at SFENTA. During your appointment, your doctor will evaluate your ear, nose, and throat to rule out underlying medical conditions that may be responsible for your hearing challenges, such as an infection, injury, earwax impaction, or tumor. An audiologist will then assess your hearing to determine the type and extent of your hearing loss.

From there, you will have the opportunity to select a hearing aid that suits your needs. It should be convenient and easy to use, and you’ll want it to provide the best compensation for your hearing challenges. You’ll also want to consider the manufacturer’s warranty, estimated repair costs, upgrade opportunities, and the company’s reputation. Your SFENTA™ physician will review all of these factors with you during your appointments to help you choose the hearing instrument that’s right for you.

Who Needs a Hearing Aid?

The only way to get a definitive assessment of the state of your hearing is to be examined by an ENT physician. Here are some things that you could be experiencing if you are suffering from hearing loss:

Conversation

  • When you’re part of a group, it’s challenging to keep up with what’s being said.
  • Conversations have become an uncomfortable nuisance instead of being a pleasure because you have so much trouble understanding them.
  • You can’t understand what’s being said if someone attempts to speak to you from another room or speak softly.
  • You need to see someone’s face to fully hear what they are saying to you.

Social Situations

  • When you’re at meetings, at the movies, in church, etc., you have trouble following what’s going on.
  • Your idea of “normal” radio or television volume is noticeably louder than what is acceptable to others.
  • You find yourself shying away from personal conversations, social gatherings, public events, etc. because your hearing difficulties make them less enjoyable or even embarrassing.
  • It seems that more people than ever “mumble” when they are speaking to you.
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Our Audiologists

Constance Cabeza, AU.D.

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Aina Calimano, AU.D., MPH.

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Daniela Cardona, AU.D

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Ana Dausa, AU.D.

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Danielle de la Fuente, AU.D.

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Nicole M. Dedos-Ocasio, AU.D.

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Melissa Gonzalez Sirven, AU.D.

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Maribiliz Irizarry, AU.D.

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Brenda Lasky, AU.D.

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Sari Levine, AU.D.

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Caryn Lockspeiser, AU.D.

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Viviana Martinez, AU.D.

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Carmen Orta, AU.D.

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Yadira I. Pagan, AU.D.

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Victoria Rojas, AU.D.

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Elana Shapiro, AU.D.

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Leda Valenciano, AU.D.

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Celia Velez, AU.D.

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About SFENTA

SFENTA is one of South Florida’s top-rated providers for audiology. Our staff has been helping patients improve their hearing for over 30 years.

We’ve made it our mission to provide each patient with:

Patient-Centered Care

Our providers ensure that each patient receives the time and attention they deserve, as well as treatment personalized to their needs.

Continuity of Care

We believe that long-term relief is the best possible patient outcome, and we always strive to achieve this.

A Network of Highly Trained Physicians

With a team of over 50 board-certified physicians, our staff is prepared to address patients with any ENT concern.

The Security of a Community Staple

We have been helping patients in South Florida improve their health for over three decades, so you can rest assured that you’re in excellent hands.

Hearing Aids: Is it Time to Do Something About Hearing Loss?

Just because you, or someone close to you, might legitimately need hearing aids in Miami, the decision to move forward can be difficult. Perhaps you feel the hearing aid will be an obvious thing about you or make you look old or infirm. Perhaps you are convinced that you can brave it out and work extra hard to pay attention to what’s being said to you. Or you could be worried that you’d be living in a world where the words you are now able to hear will lose their human warmth and begin to sound mechanical and artificial.

It’s not hard to understand these thoughts and others like them. Fortunately, the days of low-tech hearing aids are long gone. The options for those looking for the best hearing aids are greater than ever. More and more powerful technologies are being deployed in smaller and smaller devices.

Hearing Aids FAQs

How much do hearing aids cost?

The price of hearing aids can range quite a bit. In general, they can be anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 for each device, with most people requiring two devices to correct their hearing loss. Many insurance plans feature coverage for hearing aids, and the investment covers much more than just the hearing instrument. It also includes the hearing test with your Miami audiologist, the initial fitting for your device, follow-up adjustments, routine cleanings, and a warranty.

How do I get started?

Your journey begins with an honest look at what you might be missing and a consultation with SFENTA. You have a lot to gain by letting more sound into your life. The ENT specialists at South Florida ENT Associates are extraordinarily qualified to help you understand your specific hearing issues and the range of solutions available to help bring your world to life.

With 2 convenient locations across the Orlando area, we’re never far away.

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