HearingFitness focuses on hearing wellness

2021-01-04 Do you own a Fitbit® or rely on another wearable to track your activities? You are not alone. About 40% of Americans use wearables to track fitness.1 As interest grows, and people look to gain new insights about their health and activity, individuals are using various devices such as fitness trackers, smart watches and cell phones to gain reliable intelligence about their daily activities. Healthcare industries have caught on to the trend, and have created a broad variety of devices to track various health-related data. Now people with hearing loss can obtain insights into their hearing trends, too.

Tracking your hearing throughout the day
Many people track their steps or monitor their sleep patterns, but recent additions to the Oticon ON app include hearing-related data. Dubbed “HearingFitness,” this new tool resembles an exercise tracker in capturing data related to hearing aid use, listening environments and other hearing-aid-related behavior.2 It works similar to other trackers, recording how an individual hearing aid wearer uses their devices and gives data on how many hours a person wears their hearing aids each day. HearingFitness’ information includes how many hours the hearing aids are used on various settings. For example, if you’ve used a remote mic or the tinnitus relief option, you can see how many hours (or minutes) you have needed tinnitus relief each day. The app and its features are designed to work with Oticon Opn™ hearing aids.

Other functions of the Oticon ON app
What else does the app do? It allows you:
* To adjust the volume of your hearing aid
* Personalize how you refer to the various programs
* To select instrument programs
* Set streaming sources
* Use built-in tinnitus sound therapy

Don’t worry if you lose your hearing aids; the app also has a “find my hearing aids” function.
It also connects to a whole array of devices, services and programs through the IFTTT (if this, then that) website. If you get an email or text message, you can set IFTTT up so that you hear a beep in your hearing aids.

HearingFitness helps more than just the hearing aid wearer
Do you care for a friend or family member who wears hearing aids? The latest upgrades to this app can make it easier for you to help them. You can set up the app to alert you when batteries are running low. You can also help your loved one to use the HearingFitness data to identify times when they can use help hearing better. Perhaps certain rooms or situations, such as restaurants, are more challenging than other places. You can help identify patterns in use to discuss at your next visit with your hearing care professional.

How does HearingFitness’ data help you improve hearing health?
Knowledge is power. By knowing how many hours a day you use your hearing aids, and which programs you use most, you can identify how to optimize your hearing aids and ultimately improve your hearing wellness. When used in conjunction with a fitness tracker, you compare this data with information on your steps taken, heart rate and sleep patterns for a complex picture of your daily health.

For information on hearing health and wellness, or more detailed information on how hearing aids help people with hearing loss, make an appointment with your local hearing care provider.

1 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/most-owners-of-wearable-fitness-devices-continue-to-use-them-daily-according-to-new-national-study-300572030.html Accessed November 7, 2018.
2 Denise DiMeglio. “Oticon Launches HearingFitness to Help People Improve Hearing Health.” Oticon Press Release. https://www.oticon.com/inside-oticon/news/News/2018/sept-12-hearingfitness. Accessed November 7, 2018.