If you’re an older adult — or care for someone who is — falling is likely high on your list of worries. And for good reason.
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 Americans.
The current pandemic has only compounded anxiety for caregivers, particularly as long-term care and congregate living facilities have been limiting family visits to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Columbia Basin Hearing Center is proud to offer Starkey’s Livio AI hearing aids, which can help alleviate worries about falls and give wearers a greater sense of independence. It also boasts natural sounding processing and artificial intelligence to help users hear their best in the most difficult listening environments.
Livio AI hearing aids have 3D sensors that enable them to detect when a wearer falls, and send alert messages to selected family members or caregivers. Not only will wearers benefit from our best sounding hearing aid ever, they and their loved ones can also enjoy increased peace of mind.
Nearly 40 percent of people who live at home after reaching the age of 65 will fall at least once a year. Accidental falls pose a significant health risk to older adults. They often lead to a loss of independence, hospitalizations, permanent physical disabilities and are even one of the top causes of deaths in seniors.
Individuals with hearing loss are at an even higher risk to suffer a fall. Research shows that people with even a 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 why Starkey hearing technologies designed the world’s first and only hearing aid with a fall detection feature.
Future research is being conducted to integrate built-in fall prevention physical therapies into the Thrive app, so users can be proactive in preventing future falls in addition to protecting themselves from current undetected falls.
Here’s how Livio’s fall detection and alerts feature works. CBHC’s staff are happy to assist in set up of the fall detection during your Livio AI fitting:
- The hearing aid user selects up to three contacts to be notified if they fall.
- The contacts information is entered into the Thrive Hearing app.
- The auto alert feature automatically sends an alert if the hearing aid wearer falls to the selected contacts.
- The alert contains the GPS location of the wearer.
- The contacts 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 emergency alert for a fall or non-fall related event.
For more information on this revolutionary technology, contact Columbia Basin Hearing Center to discuss your hearing and health needs.
