In this, the third in our blog series imaging the future of hearing health, Crystal Rolfe, RNID Director of Strategy hears from Dr Gabrielle Saunders, Professor of Audiology at the University of Manchester. Gaby shares their ideas on improving hearing healthcare in the UK to meet the current and future demand.
Approximately 6 million people who need hearing healthcare in the UK aren’t accessing it. For those that are accessing it, people continue to struggle to fully benefit from their hearing technology.
At RNID, we believe there is a real opportunity to transform NHS hearing healthcare to meet these demands and deliver a more cost-effective model, leading to better health outcomes.
Crystal: What ideas or changes in hearing healthcare technology are you really excited about?
Gaby: I have a couple of ideas. First, having witnessed the daily struggles of staff in a dementia care facility, I understand why carers do not always have the capacity to support residents with their hearing care – because they are tending to the most basic needs of daily living.
We therefore need to seek hearing care solutions that avoid the need for personal in-ear hearing devices. To that end, my idea is for the development of ‘smart furniture’ through which sound is transmitted directly to the listener, from say, the TV or others seated at the furniture via embedded speakers and microphones. This would improve the signal-to-noise ratio and decrease ambient noise for others. Can Auracast help with this?
My second thought is about making the most of the fact that we can now combine information from multiple devices, such as hearing aids, smart phones and other devices like fitness trackers in real-time.
This opens up the possibility of using AI and machine learning to make automated changes to hearing aids specific to a particular sound environment or the users listening intention, based on passively-measured physiological metrics (e.g. heart rate variability, blood pressure, skin conductance) that reflect listening effort, intent and/or success.
While data collected from interconnected devices is largely only used for research at the moment, I predict that in the future, hearing aid users will be able to benefit directly and in real time from the interconnectivity of devices.
There can be a lot of resistance to new technology, particularly when the words ‘artificial intelligence (AI)’ or ‘machine learning (ML)’ are mentioned but, the reality is, AI and ML are here to stay. By embracing these innovations, we can make sure that the technology they deliver meets the needs of the profession and the people it serves.
Crystal: How do you think technology could improve people’s experiences of hearing healthcare?
Gaby: To improve experiences of hearing healthcare, technology should provide a seamless experience for the user – rather like perfect service at a restaurant – the technology should work without it being intrusive.
Unfortunately this is often not the case, as in the need to use a smart phone to change hearing aid settings in lieu of buttons on the hearing aid itself. The simpler technology is to use, the better will be the user’s experience.
Crystal: How can we make sure that technology meets people’s needs?
Gaby: The key to this is co-production of products and services. That is, all stakeholders should be engaged from inception of ideas to co-designing and co-producing the ultimate product or service.
By using input from healthcare professionals, patients and the public, at all stages in the design process, the product or service will be more usable, desirable and acceptable to all.
When thinking of who the stakeholders might be, we must remember that hearing care providers as well as end-users are all critical to the development process, as are individuals with diverse conditions and needs, not just those with hearing loss alone.
Share your idea
These are just a few ideas of how technology can support the future of hearing healthcare in the UK.
We’ve been inspired to hear ideas from people with hearing loss, healthcare professionals, academics, and technology experts.
As a national charity we believe that by working in collaboration to test and develop solutions with people who are deaf, have hearing loss, and tinnitus, we can make the future better for hearing health.
If you have an idea for the future of hearing healthcare, let us know by emailing [emailprotected].
More like this
We’ve been excited to hear a variety of ideas from people with hearing loss, healthcare professionals, academics, and technology experts, on what they think could be the future for hearing healthcare.
