If you’re an older adult — or care for someone who is — falling is likely high on your list of worries. And for good reason. According to the National Council on Aging1:

• Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in an emergency room for a fall-related injury.
• Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans. 

The current pandemic has only compounded anxiety for caregivers, particularly as long-term care and congregate living facilities have been limiting family visits to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Let Via AI help alleviate fall worries

Our Via AI hearing aids can help alleviate worries about falls and give wearers a greater sense of independence, thanks to technology that no other hearing aids offer.

The built in 3D sensors in Via AI hearing aids enable them to detect when a wearer falls, and send alert messages to selected or family members or caregivers. Not only will wearers benefit from our best sounding hearing aid ever, they and their loved ones can also enjoy increased peace of mind.

Hearing loss and falling commonly occur with aging

Nearly 40 percent of people who live at home after reaching the age of 65 will fall at least once a year.2 Accidental falls pose a significant health risk to older adults. They often lead to a loss of independence, and can abruptly alter the course of one’s life. 

Worse still, people with mild hearing loss are three times more likely to have a history of falling than peers with normal hearing.3

This correlation between hearing loss, aging and falling is why Audibel designed the world’s first and only hearing aid with a fall detection feature. Our odds of having hearing loss and falling increase as we age. Having a single device that can help with multiple aging issues is significantly more convenient and beneficial than having a different device for each.

Hearing aids are ideal for detecting falls

Plus, unlike other fall-detection devices, which hang around the neck or are worn on the wrist, Via AI benefits from the anatomy and physiology of the human body. During typical, daily activities and instances of falls, muscles in the neck work with the balance system of the inner ear to protect and stabilize the head. Since hearing aids are worn on the head, they are naturally less prone to mistake daily activities for falls than the devices worn on other parts of the body.4

Here’s how Via’s fall detection and alerts feature works:

• The hearing aid wearer selects up to three contacts to be notified if they fall. 
• They (or their hearing professional) can enter contacts easily into the Thrive Hearing Control app. 
• The auto alert feature automatically sends an alert if the hearing aid wearer falls. 
• The alert contains the GPS location of the wearer.
• The caretaker can then immediately call the wearer back to check on them or otherwise get them help.
• The manual alert feature allows the wearer to simply tap their hearing aid to send an alert for a fall or non-fall related event. 

Listen, there’s plenty of stuff to worry about already this year. Why not take at least one thing off the list?

To experience the fall detection and alert feature in Via AI hearing aids for yourself, contact us!

Sources: 
1 National Council on Aging
2 Rubenstein, L. Z. (2006). Falls in older people: epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention. Age Ageing 35, ii37–ii41.
3 National Council on Aging. (n.d.). Fall prevention facts. Retrieved from: https://www.ncoa.org/news/ resources-for-reporters/get-the-facts/falls-prevention-facts/
4 Cola, G., Avvenuti, M., Piazza, P. & Vecchio, A. Fall Detection Using a Head-Worn Barometer. International Conference on Wireless Mobile Communication and Healthcare 217-224 (Springer, Cham, 2016)