Smart Ears: How Modern Hearing Aids Transform Lives Beyond Sound

Advancements In Hearing Technology

Hearing technology has undergone a dramatic transformation, evolving from simple amplification devices to sophisticated wearable tech that connects seamlessly with our digital lives. Dr. Paige Gainey takes us on a fascinating journey through the cutting-edge innovations reshaping how we think about hearing aids and the remarkable ways they enhance quality of life.

Gone are the days of clunky, obvious hearing devices with limited functionality. Today's hearing aids are sleek, nearly invisible, and packed with features that extend far beyond better hearing. Fall detection capability now allows these devices to recognize when a user has fallen. The future looks even more promising, with industry leaders exploring health monitoring functions like heart rate tracking and cholesterol measurement—essentially transforming hearing aids into comprehensive health management tools worn discreetly in the ear.

Artificial intelligence and deep neural networks have revolutionized performance in challenging listening environments, directly addressing the number one complaint Dr. Gainey hears from patients: difficulty understanding speech in background noise. Bluetooth connectivity delivers crystal-clear audio directly from phones and TVs, while the emerging AuraCast technology will soon allow automatic connection to public announcement systems in places like airports. And with rechargeable technology now standard in nearly all models, the hassle of changing tiny batteries is becoming a thing of the past.

What truly makes hearing technology effective isn't just advanced features but matching the right solution to each person's unique needs and lifestyle. Whether it's hearing grandchildren speaking from the backseat of a car or participating confidently in business meetings, Total Hearing Care specializes in finding personalized hearing solutions that address what matters most to you.

Ready to experience the remarkable difference modern hearing technology can make in your life? Call [phone] to schedule an appointment at Total Hearing Care, serving the DFW Metroplex, or visit TotalHearingCare.com—because when you hear better, you truly do live better.

To learn more about Total Hearing Care visit:
https://www.TotalHearingCare.com

Total Hearing Care
Multiple Locations Across the DFW Metroplex
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference where we
help you experience lifethrough better hearing.
Hosted by the experts at TotalHearing Care, a leading private
audiology practice serving theDFW Metroplex, we're here to
provide guidance on hearing loss, tinnitus and the latest
advancements in audiology.
Transform your life throughbetter hearing.

(00:23):
Let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Today's hearing aids aren't just for hearing better.
They're smart, sleek and packedwith technology that can
connect to your phone, adjustautomatically and even track
your health.
The future of hearing ishappening now.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sophia Yvette, co-hostslash producer, back in the
studio with Dr Paige Gainey.
Dr Gainey, how are you today?
I'm doing fantastic.
How are you, sophia?
I'm also doing fantastic.

(00:59):
So, dr Gainey, what are someadvancements in hearing
technology?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
So hearing devices, hearing aids, have come so far,
even since I started doing themover a decade ago.
Some really cool things are outnow and I just only foresee
that getting better and betterwith technology and I just only
foresee that getting better andbetter with technology.
Some things that are new wehave fall detections of

(01:29):
somebody's falling that can bedetected.
There's been some talks duringconferences about checking
heartbeat, heart rate, checkingcholesterol, those types of
things.
There's lots of different talksin the industry about what can
happen in the future.
I foresee personally, withhearing devices kind of being

(01:51):
like your new smartwatch, butit's gonna be inside your ear
and it's gonna be not even felt.
Even now, hearing devicesaren't even felt in their ears.
Lots of patients say, oh, mygosh, they're so light.
Being able to introduce newtechnologies like that is gonna
be really cool in the future.
There's also voice recognition.

(02:13):
We already have it in ourphones, like if I were to say
hey, siri, my phone would detectit.
Hearing devices I foresee thathappening as well.
It's just like you know, ifyour kid runs out in the street
right, and they scream, ourbrains automatically know hey,

(02:34):
that's our kid, that is my child, I need to go help.
Hearing aids are going to dothat too.
I foresee that they're going tosay oh well, I'm around this
voice 80% of the time thissounds like my wife's voice.
Okay, I'm going to make sure Ihone in on that voice, although

(02:54):
some patients would say I don'tknow if I want to do that.
But you know, with technologythere's always going to grow.
It's exponential, and so I seethat the future of hearing aids,
or listenables, is very bright.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
So, dr Gainey, thank you for those helpful insights
thus far.
Let's get into it a bit more.
How does Bluetooth connectivityin hearing aids improve
everyday listening experiences?

Speaker 3 (03:27):
Yes.
So Bluetooth connectivity hasbeen a game changer for hearing
devices, and whenever we look atBluetooth connectivity, it's
almost like if someone werestanding right next to your ears
, talking in both sides.
So that signal is a strong,great, great quality signal, and

(03:49):
hearing devices provide thatnow.
So they also provide it withtelevision, and there's also
something new called AuraCastthat is coming out.
Some hearing devices arealready enabled for it.
It might just take an update.
Television's already coming outwith AuraCast and that's where
anybody that comes in with anAuraCast hearing device can

(04:11):
connect directly to that device,which is amazing, because what
if you're in an airport and youneed to hear your name over the
speaker?
The hearing aids are going tobe smart, so they're
automatically going to know whento detect that system.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Wow, I was just about to ask you how does artificial
intelligence work within hearingaids to learn users'
preferences?

Speaker 3 (04:36):
Yes, so artificial intelligence, ai, has been out
in hearing aids for a while, butnow they're using more of a
deep neural network, which islike a DNN, and so they're just
going to get smarter and smarter.
Using artificial intelligenceand hearing aids has
significantly improved hearingand background noise.

(04:57):
That's the number one complaintI get with patients.
I want better hearing andbackground noise.
Now we have it because of thatartificial intelligence and that
deep neural network learning.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
What are the advantages of rechargeable
hearing aids compared totraditional battery-powered ones
?

Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yes, so now I would say about 98, maybe 99% of
patients have rechargeablehearing devices.
It's just getting more and morecommon.
Those little tiny buttonbatteries that are no much
bigger than the eraser end of apencil were hard to change and

(05:37):
challenging, not just forpatients but for providers as
well.
And it's one more thing to addto your routine.
Life is becoming rechargeable,and so should our medical
devices, and hearing aids aredefinitely there, and the
rechargeability is lasting days,so that's good.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Wow.
And so if someone has a hearingdevice, what I'm hearing you
say is it's the best that theydon't just keep one, but they
also keep a backup.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
Yeah, absolutely, that is very important.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
So, Dr Gainey, how does Total Hearing Care help
patients choose the righthearing technology for their
needs and lifestyle?

Speaker 3 (06:29):
and lifestyle.
I call it your hearinghealthcare journey right, and I
am here to guide you throughyour journey and to look at all
of the latest and greatestproducts that are available for
patients that are correct fortheir hearing loss, their
lifestyle, their everyday use.
So whenever I'm looking at thepatient, I don't look at just
what's sitting in front of me.

(06:50):
I ask them questions.
You know, tell me your topthree situations that you wish
you could hear better.
If I had a magic wand and Icould fix something.
What would it be?
Getting to know the patient ona one-on-one basis, they might
say.
You know, I pick up mygrandkids from daycare every
Tuesday at 3.30 and I havetrouble hearing Emery in the

(07:14):
backseat.
Hey, that's an important partof life for this patient.
They want to hear theirgrandkids.
So me being able to know thoseexact things allows me to find a
specific product to help thatpatient in that situation.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
Wow.
Any final words today on theadvancements in hearing
technology.
It sounds like there's so manyexciting things coming out.

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Oh, absolutely, sophia, there are, and the
biggest thing is don't wait.
Look now, there's options,there's plenty of options for
you.
Now and call and schedule andwe'll go through all of your
different options.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Love it.
Dr Gainey, We'll catch you inthe next episode.
Have a fantastic rest of yourday.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
Thanks, sophia.
You too, have a fantastic restof your day.
Thanks, sophia.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
You too.
Thank you for listening to theTotal Hearing Care Difference.
If you're in the DFW Metroplexand ready to take the next step
toward better hearing, call469-218-4853 to book an
appointment or visitTotalHearingCarecom, because
when you hear better, you livebetter.
See you next time.