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Hearing:  Older Adult Perspectives

The Impact Theme series: Longevity Explorers Discuss.

Almost all our Longevity Explorers know someone with hearing problems, and for many of them, they are that person!

In the Longevity Explorer discussions below, our community of older adults discuss various products and unsolved problems they have relating to this topic.

 

 

Hear what Older Adults Think: Hearing

Passavant explorers evaluate "TV Ears"

The Test Pilots/Passavant Community Longevity Explorers Circle evaluated the product "TV Ears" at their October 2019 meeting. Here are the results.

Listen to: "Passavant explorers evaluate "TV Ears""

 

TV ears evaluated by Passavant Longevity Explorers

 

i Phone and Hearing Aids

How well does the i Phone work with hearing aids? Hear this discussion from our March circle.

Listen to: "i Phone and Hearing Aids"

 

 

Hearing Aids: An Explorer Shares a Cautionary Tale

Explorer Lynn shares with the  group that her sister in law recently called her to report finding a surprisingly inexpensive pair of hearing aids that she bought over the Internet.

Listen to: "Hearing Aids: An Explorer Shares a Cautionary Tale"

 

hearing aids

 

Hearing and Hearing Aids - Bayley July 2019

Hearing and Hearing Aids - Bayley July 2019 by Longevity Explorers | Recent @ Cincinnati

Hearing and hearing aids are practical topics for our group for a lot of reasons: We want everyone in the meeting to hear what's going on, and we're concerned about costs, insurance, and just learning more about this industry.

Listen to: "Hearing and Hearing Aids - Bayley July 2019"

 

Bayley explorers discuss hearing aids

 

Loop Devices Broadcast Directly to T-Coil Hearing Aids

Explorer Steve describes a hearing assist system for large spaces which works with the T-Coil feature in many hearing aids to broadcast directly from a microphone to the wearer's T-Coil enabled hearing aid.

Listen to: "Loop Devices Broadcast Directly to T-Coil Hearing Aids"

 

T-Coil hearing assist

 

Help for the Hard of Hearing

Laura reported increasing difficulty following what people say in conversation. She finds herself just smiling and nodding.

Listen to: "Help for the Hard of Hearing"

 

 

Hearing Augmentation for Meetings

Explorer Steve explains the (hearing loop) type of hearing augmentation equipment, which can be found in some meeting rooms and works with certain types of hearing aids.

Listen to: "Hearing Augmentation for Meetings"

 

Hearing Aid, Hearing Loop

 

Cochlear Implants: My Experience

Cochlear Implant and other hearing aids were described and discussed. 

Listen to: "Cochlear Implants: My Experience"

 

cochlear implant

 

Audio Enhancement in Meeting Rooms

Explorer Steve is looking into ways to enhance the clarity of sound in a building's meeting rooms. His research has led him to the conclusion that the wisest next step is to consult the users about what they want, and what would work best in the space.

The problems include difficulty...

Listen to: "Audio Enhancement in Meeting Rooms"

 

sound enhancement

 

I Really Like this Hearing Amplifier

Explorer Jean Marie reports her approval of an affordable hearing amplifier which helps her greatly when watching films in theatres or television at home.

Listen to: "I Really Like this Hearing Amplifier"

 

hearing amplfier

 

Bleeding Edge Hearing Aid: "It's Fantastic"

Explorer Don reports to the group about EarLens, a hearing aid using a new technology to transmit sound.

Listen to: "Bleeding Edge Hearing Aid: "It's Fantastic""

 

Hearing aid EarLens

 

Huge Improvement with this Hearing Aid Booster

Explorer Peg addresses the group about a huge improvement she has found in how well she can hear using a new hearing aid plus "booster".

Listen to: "Huge Improvement with this Hearing Aid Booster"

 

Widex hearing aid booster

 

The Problem with My Hearing Aids

Explorer Jean Marie complains about hearing impairment - even with hearing aids - in settings with a lot of background noise.

Listen to: "The Problem with My Hearing Aids"

 

Hearing Aid

 

Can this Device Help Improve Speech Imperfections?

Explorer Lynn demonstrates a product intended for use by teachers as well as other professionals in teaching or treating speech therapy. Explorers speculate on many possible use cases.

Listen to: "Can this Device Help Improve Speech Imperfections?"

 

Toobaloo

 

Hearing Problems we Need Solved

Explorer Shelly opens the discussion on hearing problems by saying that he has the most trouble hearing, even with hearing aids, in a movie theater.

Listen to: "Hearing Problems we Need Solved"

 

hearing loss discussion

 

Hearing Aid plus Smartphone: Fabulous

Explorer Mary reports that she has heard about improved performance of hearing aids when used in bluetooth connection with a smartphone. Explorer: Its Fabulous

Listen to: "Hearing Aid plus Smartphone: Fabulous"

 

hearing loss discussion

 

Hearing Issues and Solutions @ EVC

The Explorer Circle members contribute anecdotal reports from personal experience regarding hearing problems and use of hearing aids.

Listen to: "Hearing Issues and Solutions @ EVC"

 

hearing loss discussion

 

Exploring Problems with Hearing @SFV

A S.F. Village Explorer explains that hearing the dialog in movies is a problem for her, and that a good solution for some settings won't work in others.

Listen to: "Exploring Problems with Hearing @SFV"

 

hearing problems

 

New (Better) Hearing Aids: Show & Tell

Explorer Helen tells the group about a type of hearing aid that works in tandem with the iPhone.

Listen to: "New (Better) Hearing Aids: Show & Tell"

 

Hearing Aids

 

After cataract surgery, want help reading

Following a recent cataract surgery, Explorer Chuck describes how his distance vision is clear enough that the DMV allows him to drive without glasses, but his near vision is now too blurry for reading. He wants a solution.

Listen to: "After cataract surgery, want help reading"

 

 

Hearing impaired father, quality of life, and headphones

One of our explorers shares an experience she had in which providing her hearing impaired father with the right headphones made a big difference to his quality of life. Discussion branches off from there.

Listen to: "Hearing impaired father, quality of life, and headphones"

 

 

Hearing Loss Issues and Answers

Explorer Peg discussess the financial impact of hearing loss on a person or family and goes on to encourage everyone who has a hearing aid to use it.

Listen to: "Hearing Loss Issues and Answers"

 

 

Personal Sound Amplifiers

Member Louise reports on an article discussing personal sound amplification products. May be an alternative in some cases to a pricy hearing aid.

Listen to: "Personal Sound Amplifiers"

 

 

Hearing aid batteries hard to change

In this conversation our circle agreed it was quite challenging to change the small batteries in the hearing aid of one member. The group came up with several possible solutions, including a potential new product concept for a "tool".

Listen to: "Hearing aid batteries hard to change"

 

 

Better hearing in a group discussion

One of our circle members gave us this "Explorer's report" about a device she had been exposed to in her capacity as a volunteer at the Fromm Institute in San Francisco. This device, made by Sennheiser, picks up audio from the public address system and sends it directly to the hearing aid of the person wearing it, allowing better hearing in a group setting than the hearing aid alone.

Listen to: "Better hearing in a group discussion"

 

 

About the Impact Theme Series

Our Longevity Explorers (hundreds of older adults with ages ranging from 60-95 years old) meet regularly to discuss topics at the intersection of aging and technology.

Among the many topics we discuss in these meetings, we have been exploring some specific themes which we think are going to be very important for older adults in the future, and which in our opinion are ripe for innovation. These make up our Impact Themes, and Hearing is one of these themes.

In these discussions:

  • We share how we do things today;
  • We explore and critique existing products;
  • We talk about challenges we have that we wish products could solve; and
  • We dream up product concepts we wish someone like you would develop.

If you are developing products or services for older adults in the category of Hearing, listen to the Longevity Explorer discussions on this page to get insights about how to develop better products and services for older adults.

More Explorer Discussions

 

Researcher Membership

Some of the discussions require a premium Researcher Membership to listen to the audio recording.

Learn about Premium Researcher Memberships.

Topics (broader coverage of this theme): 
Health & Wellness, Hearing and vision