Oticon, a hearing device manufacturer and exhibitor at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, was the winner of a CES Innovation Award for a new hearing aid app dedicated to hearing fitness. According to the company, the HearingFitness app works similarly to an exercise tracker, monitoring the impact of hearing on the wearer’s overall health and providing advice.
Hearing loss is perhaps a bigger problem than many people realize: It ranks as the third most common chronic health issue in the U.S., affecting more than 48 million Americans. Closer attention to hearing health can reduce the risk of other ailments — including dementia, due to the relationship of hearing loss to social isolation.
The HearingFitness app is designed to be used in conjunction with Oticon Opn internet-connected hearing aids, and works by collating data about hearing aid use and listening environments with wearable-device measurements such as heart rate and sleep patterns. Designed to differentiate between speech and noise as a way of opening the listening environment to hearing multiple speakers, Oticon Opn hearing aids were also a CES Innovation Award honoree in 2017.
