Baby Boomers' Expectations Are Pushing Tech Companies to Update Hearing Devices

Baby boomers' expectations and life requirements are driving technology companies to improve hearing aids and related assistive devices, reports MobiHealthNews . "Boomers are the largest consumer of healthcare services, and they are very avid consumers of healthcare information and seek out information themselves," explained Eargo founder Daniel Shen at the Connected Health Conference last week in Boston. "They approach the healthcare providers with greater initiative than older generations. What that means is from a medical device or solution standpoint, they are a very important generation and they may be able to seek out their own sources of information and not just from their doctors." Hearing technology is not covered by Medicare, which can add difficulty for hearing-impaired seniors. Shen added that hearing tech has remained somewhat unchanged for a long time, but boomers' familiarity with tech, consumer mentality, and specific needs are impelling the push for new devices. "Designers have to keep in mind there may be limitations in terms of the hearing, vision, and dexterity of this population," he said. "That is where you can often see a divide between the consumer products that we love and what is commonly seen as consumer health products for the aging population, which by contrast can often feel dull or stigmatized."