An electric scooter can help you retain your independence and get you where you need to go; here are some things to know if you’re trying one out for the first time. 1) To operate a mobility scooter in British Columbia you do not need a license, registration or insurance. 2) You ride the scooter on sidewalks or road shoulders and follow the same rules as pedestrians. 3) Consider taking a test drive of your future scooter to ensure you can operate it safely and comfortably.
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What are the risks of untreated hearing loss?
Hearing loss is quite common among a large portion of the population, but it isn’t rare for people with hearing loss to leave it untreated for long periods of time. What many don’t realize is that there are a concerning number of risks associated with untreated hearing loss.
It often takes 7 years on average before an individual seeks treatment which may be caused by frustration, believing it’s a sign of aging, difficulties finding a treatment plan, or simply their unawareness of the condition.
There is an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing towards the unintended risks of untreated hearing loss that can have significant consequences. Cognitive, psychological, and safety risks are often interlinked with many symptoms occurring at the same time that negatively affects a person’s quality of life.
Untreated hearing loss causing cognitive decline and mental fatigue
One risk of untreated hearing loss is a decline in cognitive health, as found in a study from John Hopkins University.
How does this happen?
The brain is responsible for identifying and transmitting the sounds we hear every day. When an individual has hearing loss, there is less sound traveling to the brain and therefore, the brain isn’t working as much as it typically would with normal hearing abilities.
If hearing loss is left untreated for a long period of time, the lack of stimulation causes the brain tissue to begin to deteriorate (also known as brain atrophy), the nerves can get rewired for different functions and it becomes harder for the brain to recognize sounds.
Think of it this way. If an individual’s hobby is running and they go for an hour-long run every day, then stop for months, their body begins to decline in muscle strength and stamina.
That is what can happen to the brain when hearing loss is left untreated. The lack of exercise can cause mental fatigue as the brain struggles to process sounds, as found in the John Hopkins University study.
The decline in emotional wellbeing and untreated hearing loss
Untreated hearing loss risks an individual’s cognitive abilities and brain health, but it also certainly can greatly impact their emotional well-being.
Many studies have shown that untreated hearing loss is linked to emotional and mental health conditions, often resulting in the following:
● Depression and fatigue
● Anxiety, tension, and stress
● Anger, frustration, and negativity
● Avoidance or isolation from social situations
● Social rejection and loneliness
● Lack of alertness and increased risk to personal safety
● Difficulty remembering things or learning new tasks
● Decreased job performance and progression
Often, individuals with hearing loss tend to withdraw from large group settings or loud sound environments because they struggle to hear and understand their peers, both personally and professionally.
This is a risk factor because increased withdrawal from social situations with friends or family can lead to depression and anxiety. It causes strains on relationships and can leave an individual with hearing loss feeling lonely and with low self-esteem.
Professionally, being involved in large work gatherings, meeting with clients, and interacting with customers while struggling with hearing can cause a lot of anxiety.
It can be stressful because of the importance of work discussions, the number of conversations occurring at once, and noisy sound environments, making it overwhelming and harder to hear.
Safety risks associated with untreated hearing loss
One of the most overlooked risks of untreated hearing loss is the lack of safety for an individual with difficulty hearing.
Individuals with hearing loss may miss warning signs of danger such as fire alarms, sirens, a door opening or shutting, glass breaking, or someone shouting at them. It puts those with untreated hearing loss at greater risk of injury.
In fact, hearing greatly contributes to a person’s balance because our ears pick up very subtle cues as we walk that help to keep us upright and balanced. For an individual with hearing loss, they can’t hear these essential signals which makes it much easier to have a dangerous fall.
Not to mention, their brain has to work much harder just to process sounds, causing increased multitasking in the subconscious that can interfere with the mental processing needed to walk safely.
The risk of falling is three times more likely and injuries are 50 percent more likely for individuals with hearing loss, according to John Hopkins Medicine studies.
Why you should treat your hearing loss
There is only one way to treat hearing loss and that is to use hearing aids. The pros massively outweigh the cons and with new technology that continues to advance, you’ll find that hearing aids aren’t what they used to be.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), invisible hearing aid models, rechargeable batteries, Bluetooth streaming, and audio control on a smartphone app is just the tip of the iceberg.
The risk of untreated hearing loss has the potential to greatly diminish an individual’s quality of life, but once treated, they can start to enjoy their day-to-day.
They can fully get immersed in conversations again, feel safer when at home by themselves, hear the sound of birds chirping or frogs croaking when going for a nature walk, and experience a world full of all the sounds they couldn’t hear before
Do you have an untreated hearing loss?
If you are living with an untreated hearing loss or suspect you have hearing loss, the passionate, dedicated, and experienced hearing professionals at NexGen Hearing are here to help you experience an improved quality of life and support you on your journey to better hearing.
NexGen Hearing provides free hearing tests, hearing aid consultations and sales, and much more at over 45 clinics in the BC Interior, Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island.
To find a clinic near you and book an appointment, click here or call 1-877-606-6671.
How Artificial Intelligence Helps With Hearing Loss
One of the reasons that makes it difficult to address hearing loss is that the way in which each individual experiences hearing loss can be a bit different, which is why a visit to a trained hearing professional is important. Different environments with varying amounts of noise adds an additional layer of complexity to the problem.
A hearing solution that works well for you for having a conversation at home may not work well in a noisy restaurant. If you have any experience with hearing loss, you may understand that the solution isn’t as simple as just making everything louder.
Hearing loss research has seen significant advancements from using artificial intelligence (AI). AI is a system that uses data to recognize patterns, which can then be applied to solve problems. With large amounts of data, AI is able to navigate through complex problems involving many variables.
We will take you through how AI has been used for hearing loss so far and the potential for AI to help with hearing loss in the future.
Current uses of AI in hearing loss
You may have already encountered the use of AI already without knowing it. A common use of AI is to recognize speech. This technology has been applied to provide automated closed captioning for video services to help those with hearing loss.
Some audiologists have started to also use AI to help fit hearing aids. In these cases, the audiologist would play different sounds for you, and software with AI functions would provide suggestions to tune the hearing aid.
To provide a more direct impact on hearing loss, AI is used in increasingly sophisticated hearing aids. Early uses of AI were used to create pre-trained models for different environments. The hearing aid would then have different modes with different frequencies preset for environments such as being at home, in restaurants, or in front of the television.
Newer hearing aids with AI are able to listen to the environment and automatically make adjustments as necessary. These hearing aids can actively lower background noise while also working to increase the volume of voices, making it easier to hear speech.
Future uses of AI in hearing loss
AI is being used to help achieve the aim of getting as close as possible to replicating how the brain hears sounds without hearing loss. Hearing aids with AI technology will automatically adjust to best match each individual’s hearing needs.
AI is able to create a balanced, personalized output by scanning the sounds in an environment, identifying the elements of different sounds, and understanding how to process each element. By listening to the voices that you hear often, the AI could emphasize voices from certain individuals while reducing others.
More advanced use of AI may be able to tackle some of the trickiest situations for people with hearing loss, such as focusing on conversations between multiple people in a noisy environment. Further in the future, to prioritize the voice of interest, which may constantly shift among speakers, the AI could determine which voice to focus on by tracking the neural activity of the brain.
Another possibility to focus on a particular speaker in the future would be to use augmented reality (AR) glasses, which is a pair of glasses that provides information to the wearer. Eye-tracking technology would allow the AI to know in which direction to focus while the glasses could provide automated captions to supplement the speech in case the wearer still has trouble making out the speech.
While the future is full of bright possibilities when applying AI to help with hearing loss, a lot of work is still required to get there. Luckily, we have seen considerable progress. Advanced hearing aids are already able to suppress unwanted noise to allow you to focus on voices. All it takes is a visit to a trained practitioner, such as the professionals at NexGen Hearing, to get a hearing aid expertly adjusted to your individual hearing needs.
Sources:
https://www.hearsoundly.com/guides/best-ai-hearing-aids
https://sfaudiology.com/the-future-of-hearing-devices-deep-neural-networks-artificial-intelligence/
Spring Cleaning Tips for Seniors
With spring comes spring cleaning! The best way to tackle this yearly task is to go low and slow, trying one drawer or cupboard a day. Decluttering helps free up space, decrease stress, and even relieve insomnia. Removing clutter from your home also reduces your risk of tripping and falling. Ask a friend or family member to help you separate items into three categories: keep, donate, and trash. To prevent injuries, do not try to move heavy objects or furniture on your own. It’s important to stay safe while spring cleaning, especially if you have reduced strength or mobility issues.
Volunteers Needed!
A strong component of most of our programs at CV Senior Support are volunteers! While staff coordinate the pieces to make programs work, it is our incredible volunteers who venture into the community and provide the supports many of our clients depend upon. Volunteering at Comox Valley Senior Support can range from a weekly phone call or an in person visit to grocery shopping or assistance with filling out forms and finding resources. Volunteers are provided with training and support and opportunities for ongoing education.
If you have an interest in supporting seniors in your community, please contact the office at admin@comoxvalleyseniorsupprt.ca or 250-871-5940 to find out more.
Board Members
Comox Valley Senior Support Society is currently recruiting Board Members. If you have have a passion for seniors, an interest in working with a collaborative Board, and supporting an active staff team, please contact Chris at admin@comoxvalleyseniorsupportsociety.ca for more information.
Office of the Seniors Advocate
The Office of the Seniors Advocate monitors and analyzes seniors services and issues in B.C., and makes recommendations to government and service providers to address systemic issues. The Office also provides information and referrals for individuals who are navigating seniors services and tracks their concerns, which helps inform future work. The services which the Office monitors are in five key areas: health care, housing, income supports, community supports and transportation. The Office collaborates with service providers, government and health authorities to improve effectiveness, efficiency and outcomes. A council of advisers, made up of B.C. seniors, provides the Seniors Advocate with advice and feedback from the perspective of seniors with diverse backgrounds, ages, geographical areas and cultures.
Seniors Safety
Approximately 1 in 6 people aged 60 years or older experienced some form of abuse in community settings and this is predicted to increase as countries experience rapidly aging populations. Many seniors and/or families turn to multiple organizations to seek help, which can include Community Response Networks, provincial health authorities, Community Living BC and Public Guardian and Trustee. In the Comox Valley, the Comox Valley Senior’s Support Society can assist in determining what to do.
What is LOVE CRN?
Living Out Visibly & Engaged Community Response Network (LOVE CRN) helps coordinate a community response to abuse, neglect and self-neglect of adults with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. While they do not provide direct service to individuals, they do work through community development, education, prevention, and advocacy.
Make Your Home Safer
Things you can do to make your home safer and reduce the risk of falling:
Remove tripping hazards like clutter, small throw rugs • Keep items you use the most easily accessible • Improve lighting to ensure you can see your path when walking, especially at night • Install grab bars in the bathroom and ensure your home has handrails on all staircases • Wear non-slip shoes both inside and outside of the house • Get a Home Safety Assessment if you are at risk of falling; an Occupational Therapist can help to advise you on making your home safer.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
According to a recent survey, 90% of North American homeowners between the ages of 55 and 75 would like to stay in their long-time home as they get older. And, not surprisingly, 66% of seniors believe their home is where they will be most comfortable, with 53% believing they will stay healthier in their own home. But living out that scenario and remaining in the driver’s seat calls for a plan of action – and an understanding of potential safety risks in the home. Home care makes it possible to remain home despite physical challenges. From respite care to 24-hour in-home care, services can be tailored to meet your needs.
