Member Article

Lichfield hearing centre offers world's first AI-powered hearing aid

Dove Hearing Centre in Lichfield is one of the first centres in the UK to offer Audibel AI – the world’s first Healthable™ hearing aid to use integrated sensors and artificial intelligence to track physical activity and cognitive health.

Patients from the Centre, based at 21 Bore Street in the town, will be among the first to benefit from the revolutionary device made by Starkey® Hearing Technologies, which is a high performance hearing aid first and foremost, but has significantly raised the bar on functionality.

Audiologist Becky Cross from Dove Hearing Centre commented: “The Audibel AI brand is so much more than just a hearing aid, it is a gateway to better health and wellness.”

She explained: “Until now, there has never been a device that tracks physical activity and cognitive health as measured by hearing aid use in social situations. Most fitness tracking devices use the wrist, but the ear provides far more accurate data – in fact, it’s the ideal spot for reliable tracking, and Audibel AI is the first-ever device to take advantage of that.”

The Audibel AI brand comes with a Thrive ‘virtual assistant’ app which allows wearers to create geotagged ‘memories’ to automatically adjust sound to preferred settings in specific places they’ve been to before. It also collates tracked health data to give a ‘Body’ score – based on a combination of step count and other movement – and a ‘Brain’ score, based on the likes of daily use, ‘engagement’ in conversations or streaming.

It is also the first hearing aid to feature Amazon® Alexa connectivity, fall detection, and the first to translate up to 27 languages directly into the hearing aid. It is priced from £,2000 a pair.

Hearing health is directly connected to overall health and well-being. Hearing loss has been linked to several chronic disabling conditions like cognitive decline, diabetes, heart disease, dementia and more. Dementia, in particular, presents an immense challenge as populations age.

The good news is that growing research shows treating hearing loss can improve or limit the risk of some of these serious conditions, including dementia. In fact, a 2017 study revealed that treating hearing loss is the single greatest change a person can make to lower their risk of dementia.

Becky Cross again: “We’re delighted that our patients here in Lichfield will be among the first in the UK to experience the next generation of hearing and health technology.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sue Souter .