Medical Alert Systems Reviews

  • Home
  • Comparison
  • Companies
  • Coupons
  • Articles
Best Reviews > Medical Alert Systems > Articles > The Surprising Link Between Hearing Impairment and Falls

The Surprising Link Between Hearing Impairment and Falls

Senior falling at the living room

While it’s a common expectation that older adults are more prone to falling, many are unaware of the risk of accidentally tripping over something increases significant by even the slightest loss of hearing? That’s right: a mild degree of hearing loss triples the risk of falling.

This staggering fact was revealed by a study for which the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine partnered with the National Institute of Aging. They assessed the hearing and vestibular functions of mature adults between the ages of 40 and 69 and found that for every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the chance of falling increases by 140 percent.

But why does a decreased ability to hear affect a senior’s safety so drastically?

1 Month for Free and Special Extras With Medical Guardian (Ad)
Medical Guardian logo

Use this coupon code while checking out your order to take advantage of the special offer with extra benefits including one month of free service, free shipping, an extra button, and a lockbox.

Get the Special Offer

The Dangers of Difficult Hearing

Gradually decreased hearing is identified as one of the most common consequences of aging, affecting roughly one third of seniors between the age of 65 and 74. Still, the elderly are often embarrassed to admit it while their younger relatives just shrug their shoulders, saying that “it’s normal at your age”. Writing off hearing impairment as just a ‘minor nuisance’ is a huge mistake since it has a strong impact on the senior’s overall safety.

For example, mishearing the doctor’s instructions could lead to drug overdosing. Navigating the streets or, even worse, driving will become a dangerous undertaking because they will receive less sensory input from their environment. Adults that are hard of hearing aren’t even safe in their own home: even if the building is protected by smoke and CO detectors, unless the device emits a special low-frequency signal it’s likely that the resident won’t hear the alarm. On top of all this, difficult hearing attracts other safety hazards as well, of which the dreaded falling is one of them. So it’s clear that hearing loss is not an insignificant threat to the elderly, linking directly to the likelihood of a falling, an accident, or danger as a result of three major factors…

Top 3 Reasons Behind the Link

The link between hearing impairment and falls can be surprising, but researchers discovered that there are actually numerous reasons why these two factors correlate with one another:

  • Not being able to hear other people – and even pets – around you decreases your environmental awareness, resulting in an increased risk of getting caught off guard and tripping over something.
  • Spatial awareness – the ability to distinguish the body’s position in relation to other objects in the room – decreases with age. So, for example, not hearing whether someone is positioned behind or to the left or right of you can cause you to misjudge which way to move and perhaps bump into them.
  • Since older adults hope to avoid such scenarios, hearing deficiencies also cause them to pay more attention to their surroundings and try to devote more mental energy to reading lips or trying to pick up fainter noises. Unfortunately, cognition declines with age, too, and concentrating this intensely can ironically lead to distracting seniors from other concerns, enough that they cannot maintain their balance or become unaware of other environmental dangers.

Senior putting in a hearing aid

Can Hearing Aids Solve the Problem?

After discovering how these reasons directly cause a link between hearing impairment and the risk of falling, researchers then investigated whether or not hearing devices could nullify this increased risk. Luckily, the results were reassuring.

In complex situations, test subjects relying on hearing aids performed much better than those without it. This test proved that being able to rely on more aural information not only helps people better position themselves among their surroundings, but it also allows them to maintain more mental capacity to keep their balance.

It’s also interesting to note that many of the people in the study who became aware of the link between hearing problems and falling paid more attention to their movements as well.

Medical Alarm Systems for the Hearing-Impaired

A popular fall detection buttoAlthough this study’s results were reassuring, keep in mind that hearing aids alone won’t stop older adults from falling, they can only regain the sensory deficit caused by their hearing impairment.

Those suffering from bad hearing need an extra safety net in case they trip and find themselves on the ground. Luckily, medical alert systems offer special fall detection pendants with built-in accelerators that detect sudden changes in height, activating an emergency call in such a situation even if the wearer is unconscious.

Medical alarm systems serve hearing-impaired seniors in several other ways as well, most notably with the monitoring team. In addition to speaking loudly and clearly through the base station, the 911-trained agents can access an extensive medical file of the senior so that they’re aware of the fact that the person in need suffers from hearing problems, helping them to act accordingly.

Best Medical Alert Systems of 2019

RankCompanyInfoVisit
1
Editor's Choice 2019
Medical Guardian
4.5/5
  • Reliable fall detection
  • Wireless central units
  • Terrific, fast monitoring service
  • Stellar pricing, no hidden charges
  • Full review…
Visit Medical GuardianCall 800-310-5997
2
Bay Alarm Medical
4.5/5
  • Advanced GPS alert system
  • Risk-free 30-day trial
  • Great coverage
  • Assistance in over 170 languages
  • Full review…
VisitCall 855-557-6706
3
Alert1
4/5
  • Many equipment options
  • Lifetime equipment warranty
  • Risk-free 30-day trial
  • Short payment plans
  • Full review…
Visit

Category: Articles

Share Your Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Best Medical Alert Systems

#1Medical Guardian Reviews
#2Bay Alarm Medical Reviews
#3Alert1 Reviews

Recent Articles

5 Common Conditions That Threaten a Senior’s Independence

Fall Detection Is For More Than Just Falls

The Future of the Medical Alert Industry

The Best Balance Exercises for Seniors

Medical Guardian vs GreatCall Comparison

More Articles...

Recent Articles

  • FastHelp Coupons
  • FastHelp Reviews
  • 5 Common Conditions That Threaten a Senior’s Independence
  • Fall Detection Is For More Than Just Falls
  • The Future of the Medical Alert Industry
  • The Best Balance Exercises for Seniors

Info

  • Comparison
  • Companies
  • Coupons
  • Articles
  • Wireless Medical Alert Systems
  • Medical Alert Systems with GPS

Best Reviews

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • More Reviews
  • Virtual Phone Systems Reviews
  • Home Security Systems Reviews
  • Find us on Facebook, Twitter & Google+

Copyright © 2019 - Best Reviews · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use