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Do you enjoy travel? How about attending sporting events? Maybe you like to run, play golf, or just take a long hike through the woods. If so, your ability to hear is often an integral part of these activities. Of course, you don’t want your hearing to dictate what you can and cannot do, so choosing a hearing aid to fit your active lifestyle is important. In this blog, we’ll discuss three of our favorite hearing aids for people with active lifestyles.
Starkey Livio AI + Thrive App
Starkey Livio AI uses built-in motion sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide users with superior sound quality and the ability to track body and brain health.
Starkey’s app, Thrive, has the ability to track health data, such as heart rate and active listening time. Thrive also uses integrated sensors to detect if the wearer falls. If a fall is detected, the app will send an alert to as many as three contacts.
Bluetooth Connectivity
Livio AI is a Bluetooth hearing aid, making it useful for runners, walkers, or anyone who enjoys listening to music during exercise. It is able to stream audio directly into the device without the need for headphones or earbuds.
Water- and Dust- Resistant
Livio AI is also ideal for people who enjoy outdoor activities, as it is water- and dust-resistant (IP68). It also uses E2E wind noise management technology to mitigate the annoyance of wind into the hearing aid.
Comfortable in Loud or Quiet Settings
Hearing Reality technology makes Livio AI useful for people who enjoy team sports, sporting events, or are often in other noisy environments. Comfortable in loud settings and quiet in quiet settings, Hearing Reality allows the wearer to enjoy enhanced speech clarity.
Language Translation Feature
One feature unique to Livio AI is its ability to serve as an “ear-worn language translator.” Within the Thrive hearing app is a translation tool that will translate 27 languages as they are spoken. Users simply select their language and that of the other speaker to engage in a conversation. Thrive will translate the user’s speech and display it on the screen in the other person’s language for them to read. When the other person speaks into the phone, the app will translate their speech and display it in the user’s language on the phone. Their translated speech is also streamed into the hearing aids. This feature alone makes Livio AI a fantastic option for anyone who enjoys international travel.
Oticon Opn + HearingFitness App
Oticon Opn hearing aid was first introduced in 2017. As the company’s first internet-connected hearing aid, it pairs with the app HearingFitness to provide users with advice and encouragement on ways to hear better and stay healthy.
The Oticon HearingFitness app is designed to be used in conjunction with Opn. The app keeps track of a user’s listening environments and hearing aid use. It combines that data with sleep patterns, heart rate, and information from other wearable accessories to produce a clearer picture of an individual’s overall health.
Bluetooth Connectivity
Because Opn can connect to a Smartphone via Bluetooth, it is a good option for people who like to listen to music while they exercise. Opn essentially acts as a set of headphones, allowing audio from a device to stream directly to the hearing aids.
Water- and Dust- Resistant
Although they are not intended to be worn while showering or swimming, Opn users do not have to worry about sweat or dust damaging their hearing aids. Opn hearing aids are dust-tight and protected against ingress of water (IP68). This means that they are designed to be worn in all daily life situation. As long as they are cleaned regularly and condensation is not allowed to collect, they will continue to function properly, even during the sweatiest workout.
Easier Hearing in Complex Environments
Opn is a great option for people who enjoy crowded activities, such as sporting events. This hearing aid uses Oticon’s Velox data processing platform, which increases speech understanding by 30 percent. Opn supports the way the brain naturally makes sense of sound and enables better hearing in complex environments by enabling a wider listening field. This gives users the ability to listen to more than one speaker at a time.
Wind Noise Management
Wind noise has historically been a nuisance for hearing aid users. However, with the Velox platform of Opn, wind noise management is improved significantly. This makes Opn a good option for people who enjoy participating in any type of outdoor activity.
Phonak Lyric
Touted as the “contact lens of hearing aids,” the Phonak Lyric is the first and only hearing device of its kind. It very different from traditional hearing aids that you might be familiar with. Lyric is inserted into the ear canal by a trained Lyric Audiologist, so it is 100% invisible to the world. It can be used all day, every day, around the clock for months at a time.
Virtually No Maintenance Needed
Other than a short visit to the audiologist each month, Lyric requires no maintenance. No battery changes, no charging, and no cleaning needed! Because of this, it is an ideal option for people who like to spend time “off the grid,” without access to electricity or a way to purchase additional batteries.
Allows for Easy Travel
Lyric is also a fantastic option for people who travel frequently. It can be worn while flying and will not set off a metal detector in the airport. Because it does not require batteries or charging of any kind, there is no need to pack additional hearing aid batteries or supplies during a trip.
Can be Worn with a Helmet or Headphones
Lyric is an ideal choice for those who enjoy cycling or other sports that require a helmet. Because it sits directly inside the ear canal, Lyric can be worn easily with a helmet. It can also be worn easily with headphones, provided the headphones don’t touch the device itself.
Can Be Worn in the Water
Finally, Lyric is a good option for swimmers or those who enjoy water sports. Although many hearing aids are water resistant and can withstand splashes and sweat, they cannot be exposed to excessive moisture. However, Lyric can still be worn during swimming, as long as audiologist-approved swim plugs are worn to protect it.
Which Hearing Aid is Right for Me?
Don’t let your hearing loss prevent you from enjoying your favorite activities. Schedule an appointment today with Whisper Hearing Centers to get started finding the right hearing aid for your needs.