Hearing aids, like lots of other devices, are getting smarter, less conspicuous and more stylish 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, unfortunately, very common, especially in older adults. Approximately 37.5 million adults in America and rising say they have some level of hearing loss.
The good news is hearing technology has had some thrilling advancements recently that will offer more options for treating loss of hearing. Here are just a few of the enhancements coming our way.
Hearing Aids That Track Your General Health
Hearing aids are equal to if not better than a fitness tracker at tracking many vital signs. Not only can it track the time in between heartbeats to help find potential cardiovascular issues, but it also tracks calories burned, heart rate, step count, and the total number of steps taken. They are even working on technology that can determine blood pressure, oxygenation of the blood and other important vital signs. There are other possible benefits that come with hearing aids, including the ability to help drown out tinnitus and will improve your social life by bettering your overall hearing. Actually, social involvement is another statistic we should look at 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 songs, you won’t even need a smartwatch or fitness device?
Streaming Made More Intelligent And Easier
As we become more dependant on virtual assistants including Alexa and Siri, being connected and able to communicate with them is becoming more important. Even if you ignore the lure of talking directly to these assistants, hearing aids that have Bluetooth allow you to stream sound from any Bluetooth device such as your smart TV or phone. Just think of the benefits: 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
Have you noticed that you get ads from Goodreads and they seem to know what type of books you enjoy reading? Or how Amazon seems to know which products to recommend? That’s because big data and artificial intelligence are very powerful. Modern hearing aids harness this kind of intelligence and use it to make adjustments based on your past reactions. For instance, if you lowered the volume the last time you went to the train station, your hearing aid will remember that and turn itself down the next time you visit the train station. They are also starting to network your hearing aids with other devices belonging to people near you in order to alert you of a possible loud noise danger nearby. Over time the hearing aids add up all this information to make suggestions and automatic corrections, so you can adjust quickly to changes in the hearing environment.
You Won’t Need to Keep Changing Those Little Batteries
Why would you want to constantly wrestle with hearing aid batteries? Rechargeable hearing aids are now available. Even though you can do a lot to help increase the life of your hearing aids’ batteries, truth be told…it’s still costly and irritating. Better yet, they are developing technology that will recharge hearing aids without even having to take them out of your ears.