Starkey, one of the big hearing aid firms, is releasing a new device that works as a combination hearing aid, fitness monitor, and, surprisingly, as a tracker of cognitive health. In addition to all this, the new Livio AI hearing aids feature integrated language translation, connectivity to Amazon Alexa devices, and the ability to measure the benefits you get from using these hearing aids in social situations.
The hardware inside detects the movement of the device, and therefore the motion of the user. In addition to fitness tracking, it can also work to detect slips and falls, potentially serving as an emergency device. Such features work through the matching Thrive smartphone app (emergency fall detection still to be fully integrated). The app also allows for on-the-go adjustments to how the device processes sound, allowing you to tune it to your needs.
Cognitive health is measured by the amount of talking that it detects you doing while in social environments, such as restaurants. The Livio AI can also compare how much you talk with it on, compared to without, so you can get a sense of the real benefit.
It has Bluetooth connectivity built-in, like most advanced hearing aids these days, which you can use to listen to music and audiobooks from external devices.
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