RA 4: Hearing health technology

Treating hearing loss can reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, but regular social interaction and an active, healthy lifestyle are also crucial.

Multisensor signals derived from the ear could help people monitor and improve their health. First ear-worn multisensor wearable devices are available on the consumer market but have not reached their full potential. Questions remain about signal quality, benefits of sensor fusion, and validation strategies. By integrating our hearing aid knowledge with additional sensors, such as inertial measurement units, biopotential acquisition devices and photo sensors integrated with AI, we advance technology to establish digital biomarkers of hearing health.

Our vision is that providing feedback on individual longitudinal trajectories of relevant performance markers can assist individuals in making proactive, preventive lifestyle changes. To achieve this, technology must advance beyond current commercial hearing aids, that primarily combine hearing support with basic activity tracking such as step counting.

Modifiable risk factors that contribute to dementia include untreated hearing loss, social isolation, depression, and physical inactivity. For example, slowing gait speed with age can predict cognitive decline and dementia years before symptoms emerge. Later, navigation issues, multitasking challenges, and memory lapses are early signs of decline. While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, a healthy lifestyle can delay the onset of the disease and slow or even halt its progression.

We envision hearing health technology enabling individuals to longitudinally monitor their performance on tasks with predictive power. Providing individuals with feedback should help them make data-driven, informed decisions before cognitive symptoms of decline first appear. The same technology may serve as an assistive device at later stages.

Our aim of extending the prodromal phase aligns well with the broader concept of brain health as proposed by the WHO.