Being independent means, we have access to lots of different technologies, and get to embrace lots of exciting developments! One of these in recent times has been the Fall detection technology from Starkey.
If you’re an older adult — or care for someone who is — falling is likely to be high on your list of worries. And rightfully so, according to the National Council on Aging:
Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in an emergency room for a fall-related injury.Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older people.
That’s why we were excited to learn about the latest feature of in the StarkeyLivio AI hearing aids, the world’s first hearing aid with artificial intelligence and integrated sensors.
Using their built-in 3D sensors, Livio AI hearing aids can detect when a wearer falls, and send alert messages to selected friends or family members. Now, in addition to wearers enjoying agreat sounding hearing aid, they and their loved ones can enjoy increased peace of mind, too.
Hearing loss and falling are common side effects of aging. Nearly 40 percent of people who live at home after reaching the age of 65 will fall at least once a year.2 Accidental falls pose a significant health risk to older adults. They often lead to a loss of independence and can abruptly alter the course of one’s life.And people with mild hearing loss are three times more likely to have a history of falling than peers with normal hearing.
This correlation between hearing loss, aging and falling is one reason why Starkey designed the world’s first hearing aid with a fall detection feature. The odds of having hearing loss and falling increase as we age, so having a single device that can help with multiple aging issues — as opposed to a different device for each — is significantly more convenient and beneficial for users.
Hearing aids are ideal for detecting falls. Plus, unlike other fall-detection devices, which hang around the neck or are worn on the wrist, Livio AI benefits from the anatomy and physiology of the human body. During typical, daily activities and instances of falls, muscles in the neck work with the balance system of the inner ear to protect and stabilize the head. Since hearing aids are worn on the head, they are naturally less prone to mistake daily activities for falls than the devices worn on other parts of the body.
How fall detection and alerts work
The hearing aid wearer selects up to three contacts to be notified if they fall.
They (or their hearing professional) can enter contacts easily into the Thrive Hearing app.
The auto alert feature automatically sends an alert to the contact(s) if the hearing aid wearer falls.
The alert contains the GPS location of the wearer.
The contact can then immediately call the wearer back to check on them or otherwise get them help.
The manual alert feature allows the wearer to simply tap their hearing aid to send an alert for a fall or non-fall related event.
Moor Hearing will always be at the front of the queue for new and exciting developments like this. We hope to bring you many more exciting hearing aid features within this blog in the coming months![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
