Like lots of other devices, hearing aids are getting smarter all of the time. They’re also more inconspicuous and more stylish than they ever have been. The average American is older, reports The Us Census Department, as the population as a whole continues to age, and loss of hearing is, unfortunately, very common, particularly in older adults. Roughly 37.5 million American adults say they have some amount of hearing loss, and these numbers are increasing.
Luckily more options for treating hearing loss are available due to amazing developments in recent hearing technology. A few of the inventions coming our way are presented here.
Your General Health Can be Tracked by Your Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are as good if not better than a fitness tracker at keeping track of several vital signs. Not only can it track step count, how many calories were burned, the total number of steps you took and heart rate, it also checks the time between heartbeats to help detect any cardiovascular issues. They are even working on technology that can measure blood pressure, oxygenation of the blood and other important vital signs. There are other possible 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 involvement is another statistic we should pay attention to because it has been linked to your overall health. Since hearing aids can now also sync with your smartphone so you can listen to your music, you won’t even need a smartwatch or fitness device?
Streaming Made More Intelligent And Simpler
As we get addicted to virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri, staying connected and able to communicate with them is becoming more important. Even if talking to these assistants is not your thing, hearing aids that have Bluetooth allow you to stream sound from any Bluetooth device like your smart TV or phone. Just think of the benefits: You could hear the analysts in the next Super Bowl clearly over your family’s fun (or at least steer clear of getting yelled at for turning the volume too loud). Being able to directly stream phone calls, music, shows and more right to your ears not only helps you hear and enjoy them more, but it will help you regulate your hearing loss inconspicuously.
Automatic Adjustments
Have you noticed that you get ads from Goodreads and they seem to already know what type of books you like to read? Or how Amazon seems to know which products to suggest? That’s because big data and artificial intelligence are very powerful. New hearing aid technologies harness this kind of intelligence and use it to make adjustments according to how you reacted 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 recognizes you’ve entered the station (or any other situation with to much background noise). They are also beginning to network your hearing aids with other devices that belong to people near you in order to inform you of a possible loud noise danger nearby. Over time you will be able to quickly adjust to variations in the hearing environment because your hearing aid will make suggestions based on all the information it has collected.
What? No More Tiny 312 Batteries?
Why would you want to constantly struggle with hearing aid batteries? You can now get rechargeable hearing aids. While you can do a lot to help extend the life of your hearing aids’ batteries, let’s face it…it’s still aggravating and expensive. Better still, technology to recharge your hearing aids while they are still in your ears is being developed.