Hard of hearing? Just wear glasses! This isn’t just a colorful incidence of synesthesia: one new tech innovation being introduced early this year is a pair of lenses embedded with audio enhancements to address mild hearing loss.
Hearing impairment is one of the most common conditions that plague older adults, affecting one in three of people aged more than 65 years, and that number jumps to one in two for octogenarians.
The “hearing glasses,” made by tech startup Nuance Hearing, are one of several new tools and devices coming out that could be useful for both hearing and vision impaired older adults. This new tech is being showcased this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
This tech includes an “in ear computer” that reads out texts or emails and another pair of glasses intended for users who are fully blind, as reported in Euronews.
The latter doesn’t actually restore sight, but rather is equipped with sensors that alert the wearer of objects in their path, similar to a guide dog’s assistance.
Currently a majority of long-term care residents have some vision impairment, data show.
Although those tools are designed to help older adults live more independently than ever, these new wearable devices probably aren’t enough to keep them out of care facilities. Nevertheless, they could improve residents’ quality of life, and in a less costly fashion than current options.
In particular, any wearable that helps prevent older adults from falling is something that could benefit both residents and staff members in long-term care settings.
Many of the tools being showcased at the AgeTech pavilion at CES 2024 are not immediately available but are expected to be on the market in the United States at some point over the next year.
