WHAT: University of Iowa researchers are holding a media availability to discuss a smartphone app they created for senior citizens in Iowa to test which hearing aids work best in various acoustic settings.
Some 36 million Americans—many of them seniors—report some degree of hearing loss, according to government statistics. Roughly half of them are unsatisfied with their hearing aids’ performance, according to surveys.
The app is basically a real-time survey. Participants in the UI research study jotted down at any time with the app how their hearing aids were working—whether it was a noisy environment like a Hawkeye football game or a tranquil setting like playing cards. The UI researchers are collecting the data to find out which hearing aids work best in different places, with the ultimate goal of helping guide the creation of hearing aids that work seamlessly and can be adjusted automatically in the cloud.
The research is part of the UI’s reorganized Center on Aging, which unites research, activities in communities statewide, patient services, and education and training with the mission to improve the health and well being of older Iowans. Originally established by the Iowa state legislature in 1999, the Center on Aging’s expanded role comes as the number of older Iowans grows: One in five Iowans will be 65 years and older by the year 2030, up from about 15 percent currently, according to figures compiled by the Iowa Department on Aging.
WHEN: Monday, Aug. 4, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, 7th floor (Elevator C), General Hospital, UI health campus (see map). Closest parking option is here.
WHO:
• Max Molleston, a participant in the project and a former farm report broadcaster
• Octav Chipara, assistant professor in computer science and one of the lead researchers on the study
• Bernd Fritzsch, biology professor, and Susan Schultz, psychiatry professor, co-directors of the Center on Aging at the UI
OTHER INFO:
• Please contact about plans to attend, so we can plan accordingly.
CONTACT: Richard Lewis, Office of Strategic Communication, richard-c-lewis@uiowa.edu; 319-384-0012 (w); 401-662-6336 (cell); Twitter: @UIowaResearch