Smart home integration makes life easier and safer for hearing aid users. It enables direct connections between hearing aids and smart household devices such as doorbells, smoke detectors, and speakers. This allows important notifications to be sent directly to the hearing aid, enhancing both comfort and safety. Additionally, by utilising voice assistants, devices can be controlled via voice commands, making daily life even more flexible.
Thanks to the latest integration of smart homes with hearing devices, they’ll also make life sound very different for anybody who uses a hearing aid. Here’s a look at what the Internet of Things means for hearing technology, our homes and most mind-bogglingly, our brains.
As the Internet of Things has grown, it's been inevitable that hearing aids evolve into smart hearing aids too. The free ‘If This, Then That’ (IFTTT) service is a platform that allows anybody to create their own recipes for automating various tasks using smart appliances. In the last few years, more than 450 smart devices that link with the IFTTT service have become available - think light bulbs, dishwashers, fridges, coffee makers, child monitors, music systems and even cars. Now, hearing technology is getting connected too.
Oticons Opn is a hearing aid that uses IFTTT to link with a plethora of appliances and devices - all customisable to the user's preferences. When you switch your smart hearing aid on in the morning, it can tell your coffee maker to start brewing an espresso. When you're watching TV, it can stream sound directly to your hearing aid and even dim your room lighting to match. It'll notify you if your smart doorbell rings or if your baby monitor indicates your little one is crying. Whatever your daily routine requires, you can input your own IFTTT recipe to make it run that much more smoothly.
Smart hearing aids, like Opn, become even more powerful when they’re teamed with voice recognition technologies like Google Home and Amazon Alexa. For example, with a voice command you can turn your stereo on and navigate through your playlist while music streams directly into your ears. You could listen to the morning news headlines as you stack your dishwasher, then automatically set it to run when you leave the house. Driving to a meeting, you could get GPS directions straight to your ears. You could even use voice commands to check whether you actually turned off your iron at home. Or, when you park your car at the supermarket, you could have your shopping list directly read to you.
This all sounds very convenient, perhaps, but it’s actually more than that. Smart hearing aids that streamline daily life can actually have major benefits for our brains.
Opn’s Head of Audiology, Thomas Behrens, explains people with traditional hearing aids can carry an added cognitive load when going about their daily activities. Behrens says, "it is not only the loss of the ability to hear soft sounds." Behrens continues, “it's also that the brain is struggling so much more that it's recruiting resources from parts of the brain that would normally be used on something else and that has an impact on your general function ability to function well, especially in social situations."
However, when combined with intelligent noise reduction technology, a smart hearing aid like Opn can reverse this burden on the brain. "The IFTTT network builds in a number of ease-of-use aspects", Behrens explains. "That helps lower the barriers of connecting to people, family, and friends." In other words, using your hearing aid to streamline your home – and your life outside the home – can give your brain the edge.
How times have changed. In the past, hearing loss often lead to social isolation, but thanks to the next generation of smart homes and even smarter hearing aids, people with hearing impairments are now leading the way for all of us to the future - and that future sounds crisper, clearer and more connected than ever before.
Amazon Alexa is a voice-activated virtual assistant that allows users to control a wide range of smart home devices through voice commands. For hearing aid users, Alexa integration can provide a seamless way to manage hearing aids alongside other smart devices.
With Alexa, users can adjust hearing aid settings, such as volume and sound profiles, simply by speaking commands. Additionally, Alexa can send alerts for incoming calls, messages, and other notifications directly to the hearing aids, improving accessibility and communication.
Alexa supports a variety of custom skills that can be tailored to meet individual needs. Hearing aid users can enable skills designed specifically for hearing assistance, providing further enhancements to their auditory experience.
Google Assistant is another powerful voice-activated assistant that offers extensive smart home integration. Like Alexa, it allows users to manage their hearing aids and other devices effortlessly through voice commands.
With Google Assistant, users can control their hearing aids, adjust settings, and receive important notifications. The assistant can also relay information from other smart home devices, ensuring users stay informed about their environment.
Google Assistant’s integration with the Google ecosystem means that it can work alongside a variety of devices and applications, providing a comprehensive approach to managing both hearing aids and smart home technology. Users can create routines that involve multiple devices, enhancing their overall living experience.
Integrating hearing aids with smart TVs allows users to control audio settings directly through their devices. This means that users can enjoy clearer sound and adjust the volume without needing to reach for the remote.
How It Works:
Many modern TVs support Bluetooth connectivity, enabling direct streaming of sound to hearing aids. Users can adjust settings through voice commands via their smart home assistant, ensuring they don’t miss any dialogue or audio cues.
Smart home integration makes it easy for hearing aid users to enjoy their favourite music without hassle. By connecting hearing aids to smart speakers or audio systems, users can experience high-quality sound tailored to their hearing needs.
How It Works:
Voice assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant can manage music playback. Users can simply ask to play specific songs or playlists, and the audio can stream directly to their hearing aids, enhancing their listening experience.
Smart home security systems can be integrated with hearing aids to keep users informed of important alerts. This integration ensures that users are aware of any security events happening in their home environment.
How It Works:
Doorbell cameras and motion detectors can send notifications directly to hearing aids. For instance, when someone rings the doorbell, users can receive a direct audio alert in their hearing aids, allowing them to respond promptly.
Smart lighting systems can enhance the living environment for hearing aid users. By integrating these systems, users can set the mood or adjust lighting conditions with ease.
How It Works:
Through voice commands, users can instruct their smart assistants to turn lights on or off, dim, or change colours. This can be particularly useful during activities such as watching TV or having dinner, allowing for an optimal auditory and visual experience.
Smart home technology in the kitchen can provide valuable assistance to hearing aid users. From cooking timers to recipe guidance, these integrations can enhance kitchen experiences.
How It Works:
Users can set timers, receive notifications for cooking alerts, or even get recipe instructions directly through their hearing aids. By using voice commands, users can manage kitchen tasks hands-free, making the cooking process more efficient and enjoyable.
The integration of hearing aids into smart home systems offers a variety of benefits for hearing aid users. A key advantage is the increased convenience, as users can easily adjust their hearing aids through voice commands without needing to physically intervene. This enhances their quality of life, allowing users to engage more actively and independently in their daily activities. Additionally, connecting to smart home security solutions improves safety by transmitting important acoustic signals, such as alarms, directly to the hearing aids. The ability to customise hearing aids according to individual preferences leads to personalised listening experiences tailored to various environments and activities. Finally, integrating with a smart home system allows for easy control of all connected devices through a central platform, making daily life more efficient. Overall, smart home integration significantly enhances the user experience for hearing aid users, enabling them to live more comfortably and securely.
The Amplifon blog is our place to explore ideas and themes of interest. For professional audiology advice, please contact your local clinic for a consultation.
