Hearing aids, as with many other devices, are getting smarter, less conspicuous and more stylish every day, and just in time. The U.S. census documents that the average American is older as the population as a whole ages, and hearing loss is, sadly, very common, especially in older adults. Roughly 37.5 million adults in America say they have some amount of hearing loss, and these numbers are increasing.
Luckily hearing technology has had some thrilling developments recently that will provide more options for treating loss of hearing. Some of the innovations now available are presented here.
Your Overall Health Can be Tracked by Your Hearing Aids
Did you realize that hearing aids can track several key vital signs as well or better than a fitness tracker? Not only can it track the time in between heartbeats to help detect potential cardiovascular issues, but it also tracks calories burned, heart rate, step count, and the total number of steps taken. They’re also working on technology that can measure other key vital signs including blood pressure and oxygenation of the blood. There are other potential advantages that come with hearing aids, including the ability to help drown out tinnitus and will enhance your social life by helping your overall hearing. Actually, social interaction has been connected to your overall health as well, so actually it’s another health statistic we should be following. Since hearing aids can now also sync with your smartphone so you can listen to your tunes, who needs a smartwatch or fitness device?
Smarter and Simpler Streaming
As we become more dependant on virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri, being connected and able to communicate with them is getting more important. Even if you resist the lure of talking directly to these assistants, Bluetooth hearing aids permit you to stream sound from any Bluetooth device like your smart TV or phone. Imagine the advantages of this: You can avoid getting yelled at for having the Volume too high while watching this year’s Super Bowl in a room full of screaming friends. You will be able to manage your hearing loss more discreetly and also appreciate your music, phone calls, and shows more by having them directly in your ears.
Automatic Adjustments
Ever notice how Goodreads seems to know what kind of book you like to read? Or how Amazon somehow know which products to recommend? This is the power of artificial intelligence and big data. The latest hearing aids can also make changes automatically according to your reactions in the past. It will remember that you turn the volume down when you go into the train station and do that automatically the next time it detects you’ve entered the station (or any other situation with a lot of background noise). They are also beginning to network your hearing aids with other devices that belong to people near you in order to warn you of a possible loud noise danger nearby. Over time you will be able to adjust quickly to changes in the hearing environment because your hearing aid will make recommendations based on all the information it has collected.
You Won’t Have to Keep Replacing Those Tiny Batteries
Why would you want to continuously wrestle with hearing aid batteries? You can now get rechargeable hearing aids. While you can do a lot to help increase the life of your hearing aids’ batteries, let’s face it…it’s still frustrating and expensive. What’s better, they are working on technology to recharge hearing aids without even having to take them out.