Hearing aids, as with lots of other devices, are getting smarter, less conspicuous and cooler all the time, and just in time. The average American is older, reports The Us Census Department, as the whole population gets older, and hearing loss is, sadly, extremely common, especially in older adults. Approximately 37.5 million adults in America say they have some hearing loss, and these numbers are rising.
Fortunately more possibilities for dealing with loss of hearing are available because of exciting breakthroughs in recent hearing technology. Some of the innovations coming our way are presented here.
Hearing Aids That Keep Track of Your Overall Health
Did you realize that hearing aids can track some important vital signs as well or better than a fitness tracker? Not only can it track step count, how many calories were burned, the total number of steps you took and heart rate, it also monitors the time between heartbeats to help find any cardiovascular concerns. They’re also working on technology that can evaluate other important vital signs such as blood pressure and oxygenation of the blood. Hearing aids also often have other benefits, including the ability to help drown out tinnitus and will help your overall hearing so that your social life will get better also. Actually, social involvement is another statistic we should pay attention to because it has been connected to your overall health. Since hearing aids can now also sync with your smartphone so you can listen to your tunes, you won’t even need a smartwatch or fitness device?
Streaming Made Smarter And Simpler
As we get addicted to virtual assistants including Alexa and Siri, being connected and able to communicate with them is getting more important. Even if you resist the allure of talking directly to these assistants, hearing aids that have Bluetooth permit you to stream sound from any Bluetooth device including your phone or smart TV. Consider the advantages of this: You could hear the play-by-play in the big game clearly over your family’s fun (or at least avoid getting yelled at for having the volume too loud). You will be capable of managing your hearing loss more discreetly and also enjoy your shows, phone calls, and music more by hearing them directly in your ears.
Automatic Adjustments
Did you ever notice how Goodreads seems to know what type of book you like to read? Or how Amazon somehow know which items to suggest? This is the power of artificial intelligence and big data. The latest hearing aids can also make adjustments automatically based on your reactions in the past. For instance, if you turned down the volume the last time you visited the train station, your hearing aid will remember that and turn itself down the next time you go into the train station. They are also beginning to network your hearing aids with other devices belonging to people near you in order to alert you of a potential loud noise danger nearby. Over time the hearing aids analyze all this information to make recommendations and automatic corrections, so you can adjust quickly to variations in the hearing environment.
No More Tiny Batteries to Change.
Why would you want to continuously wrestle with hearing aid batteries? You can now get rechargeable hearing aids. Even though you can do a lot to help extend the life of your hearing aids’ batteries, let’s face it…it’s still irritating and costly. Better yet, technology to recharge your hearing aids while they are still in your ears is being developed.