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All right, let's get started. Welcome to

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today's webinar, "The Dementia-Hearing

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Loss Connection". I'm your host, Janet

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Parker Evans, and today we're going to

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learn more about this connection and how

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it's inspired new assistive devices that

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are being used at Brookdale and other

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senior living communities.

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So today you might be joining us on Zoom,

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but we're also simulcasting on Facebook

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Live, so before we introduce our

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panelists, let's just take a minute to

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talk about how you can interact with us

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during the webinar.

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If you're on Zoom things can be a little

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bit different from computer to computer,

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but if you look at the bottom of the

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Zoom screen where you're seeing this

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webinar, you'll see some icons. The one on

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the far left is usually a microphone. Now

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we've muted your voice, so there's no

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background sound, but you can ask for

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question, you can ask questions or get

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some technical help by using the Chat

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button below. So if you type into the

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Chat button, our moderators can help you

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if you have a question. And the Q&A

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button is going to be very important.

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This is where we want you to type in any

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questions you have for the Q&A session

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we're going to have at the end. You can

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start typing questions in any time

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during the webinar, and we're going to

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get to as many as we can at the end.

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If you're on Facebook Live

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simply pop any questions or any issues

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into the comment box, and our moderator

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will see them there.

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And then after the webinar you're going

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to get a follow-up email with all of

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this information, as well as a recording

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of the webinar, so you can refer to it

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later or share it with your friends and

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loved ones.

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Ready to go? All right, let's jump in, and

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meet our panelists: Dr. Lisa Rickard, Matt

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Reiners and Julia Holt Klinger.

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Lisa Rickard is a licensed audiologist

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and clinical educator with over 30 years

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of experience. She earned her doctorate

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in audiology from the University of

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Florida.

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Lisa specializes in the evaluation of

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hearing loss and rehabilitation in

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adults via the use of hearing aids,

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wireless accessories and

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hearing assistive technology.

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She's especially interested in helping

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her patients, and their communication

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partners manage the impact of hearing

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loss on relationships, cognition health

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outcomes and quality of life. Welcome,

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Lisa!

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Thank you, Janet.

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Next up, Matt Reiners.

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Matt is the co-founder of Eversound, a

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technology company dedicated to ending

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social isolation for older adults by

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giving everyone the gift of hearing.

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So after seeing his grandmother struggle

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with hearing, Matt and his co-founders

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saw an opportunity to help improve a

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resident's quality of life through

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better listening experiences.

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Matt's a serial entrepreneur, and he's

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helped start two additional companies

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and is an up-and-comer in the senior

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living industry.

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Matt is a recipient of the 2018 Forbes

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"30 Under 30," a 2019 Argentum Senior

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Living Leader Under 40 and the 2018

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National Association of Activity

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Professionals Business Affiliate Award

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of Excellence. Wow! Welcome, Matt!

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Thanks so much. I'm not that cool. I

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promise. But thank you. I'm excited to be

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here. We've built you up. We built you up.

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That's great.

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Uh, finally, Juliet. Juliet is an

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accomplished senior living executive

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with more than 35 years of experience

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designing and executing cutting-edge

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Alzheimer's and dementia care programs

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in both assisted and skilled living

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settings.

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She specializes in developing and

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directing, directing the highest quality

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person-centered care and programming

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possible.

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Juliet is a strong advocate for those

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living with dementia and their care

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partners. She's deeply committed to

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improving the cultural acceptance of

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those with cognitive differences. Welcome,

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Juliet!

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Thanks, Janet. It's great to be here today.

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I think we've got a really exciting

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topic.

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We sure do. We're gonna begin actually by

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spending some time talking with Lisa

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about the dementia and hearing loss

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connection.

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So, Lisa, we tend to associate hearing

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loss with aging, and we know that

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dementia affects a portion of aging

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adults too.

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Can you explain how these two things

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might be connected and what the latest

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research says?

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And you are on mute.

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I lost my screen for a moment. Can

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everyone hear me okay?

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Okay, good. Um, so yes, the attention to

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age-related hearing loss has grown

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significantly over the past decade. And

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in fact, it's among the top three most

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common conditions affecting older adults,

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after heart disease and arthritis.

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And certainly as the population ages, the

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incidence of age-related hearing loss is

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going to increase as well.

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For example, we know that over half of

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those

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in the 70 to 79 age bracket have

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significant hearing loss, and over 80%

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of those in the, um, 80 and over

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age range have significant hearing loss.

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So the functional implications of that

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are, are profound for that population, and

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we know that hearing disability is a

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very important issue in geriatric

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healthcare, because it's associated with

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numerous health conditions that I'm

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going to discuss a bit later.

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And is it a coincidence that these two

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were related? Like do they just happen at

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the same time coincidentally, or could

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there be some kind of a causal effect

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between one or the other? That's a great

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question. Um, so the latest research does

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show a

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correlation or relationship between

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untreated hearing loss and numerous

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health issues, as I mentioned earlier. For

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example, cognitive decline,

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poor balance,

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increase in the risk for falls,

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increased hospitalizations, um, social

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isolation, depression, loss of autonomy.

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And what we're thinking the, um, the

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connection or the relationship is, is

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something that multiple researchers are

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calling these mechanistic pathways. So

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There's not necessarily a physiological

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connection,

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but there are these underlying

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mechanistic pathways. For example, the

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idea of cognitive load. If a person is

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having to

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struggle every day, all day, to

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encode a garbled auditory message, that

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is just going to draw resources from

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other

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higher level

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cognitive skills, such as attention,

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memory, cognition, executive function, is

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very effortful and very tiring to have

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to listen so hard.

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FMRI has actually shown changes in brain

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function and structure, actually

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decreased volume in the temporal lobe,

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which is where hearing and language all

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occurs.

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And then, as I mentioned, the whole idea

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of when it's so hard to hear, people just

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check out; they become socially isolated,

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which leads to a whole cascade of

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depression. They become more sedentary.

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They, um,

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which increases their risk of fall, so

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there's just a whole cascade of events.

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Um,

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to date,

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we know that these mechanistic pathways

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happen.

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The question that needs to be answered

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yet is,

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well, then does treating hearing loss

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prevent or delay

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cognitive decline? And we don't have a

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definitive answer to that yet, but what I

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know from spending 30 years doing this

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is that

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when we can mitigate some of the effects

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of hearing loss, it has a profound impact

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on all of these other

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health and social issues, for sure.

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In, in some cases untreated hearing loss

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can even be mistaken for dementia, too,

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right?

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Absolutely, absolutely.

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We can touch on more on that later, I

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believe.

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And can you explain the difference

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between causation and correlation for

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our audience? I know it can be confusing

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for those of us that aren't, like, all

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science-minded? Sometimes that, they're

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that, there's distinction

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right? So causation just means that

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they're, they are related. Um, so

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untreated hearing loss is related to

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social isolation. It's related to this

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effortful listening and cognitive load.

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Um, causation means that there's a, a

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causal fact. So if, if I know that

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hearing loss is related to social

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isolation, or hearing loss is related to

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cognitive decline, then the next question

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is, so does untreated hearing loss cause

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cognitive decline? And if I treat with

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hearing aids, will that prevent,

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um, cognitive decline?

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We don't have a definite answer to that

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yet.

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There are large-scale studies underway

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to prove if treating hearing loss

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prevents or delays cognitive decline,

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but what I'm saying is I know for sure

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that treating

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hearing loss can

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mitigate some of these negative effects,

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like the social isolation and the

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depression.

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Yeah,

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thank you for that.

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Um, Matt, let's turn to you. Could you tell

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us how and when you first became

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interested in hearing loss? I understand

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you have a personal story about this.

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Yeah, absolutely. So

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we

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first became interested in hearing loss,

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so we were doing another company in the

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special event space, and then

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two things kind of happened

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simultaneously. We started receiving

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phone calls from senior living

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communities basically asking for help,

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and what they were saying to us was that

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hearing was all over the place,

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especially in group programs, right? So

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think of movie night, resident council

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meetings, worship services, you know

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anything like that where everyone's

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hearing was at different levels. And

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there was a lot of background noises that

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were taking place, and it was really hard

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to focus on what was actually happening.

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Um, and it was around the same time that

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I really started to notice what my, my

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own grandmother was going through

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in terms of her own hearing loss, and

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I think the picture will come up here.

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Believe it or not, that is what I looked

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like about 30 years ago with the same

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haircut.

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That's awesome. Yeah.

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And then, uh, my actually, my, my last photo

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with my grandmother, but you know, and

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seeing what, what she, so she lived in a

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community in New Jersey, and what I

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noticed whenever I would go visit her,

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she would just be in her room by herself.

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I mean, there'd be programs happening, you

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know, the staff would do everything they

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could to bring her out, but she wouldn't

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go to any of the programs, events,

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even the meal times. She just continued

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to isolate herself to her room. And

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whether it was, like, blasting her

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television or listening to her romantic

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fantasy novels through her own headphone

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system, um, really showed that there was--

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It was sad to see, right? And being a

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grandkid that would go in and visit my

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grandmother and see this, and even

00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:19.839
struggle myself to even have a

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conversation with her, because I would

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have to yell, right? And like, it's just

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felt demeaning to talk to someone that

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you love, and someone that used to hold

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you on their lap as a baby, it's, you know,

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just to talk to her like that.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Absolutely. I think we've all been there.

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How did that experience that inspire you

00:11:37.760 --> 00:11:42.800
to create Eversound?

00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:46.160
Yeah, so it was around, so when I would go

00:11:42.800 --> 00:11:47.760
visit my grandmother, right? There was

00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:50.240
notice that she

00:11:47.760 --> 00:11:51.680
definitely was a candidate to have and

00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.880
wear hearing aids, but she just didn't

00:11:51.680 --> 00:11:54.000
want to, right? She didn't want to put

00:11:52.880 --> 00:11:55.200
them in. She didn't like the way they

00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.519
made her look, even though she really

00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.519
wouldn't leave her room.

00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:01.040
So she would really

00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:02.959
isolate herself. When we started looking

00:12:01.040 --> 00:12:04.639
around, and out there in the world, to see,

00:12:02.959 --> 00:12:06.000
like, what other solutions might there be

00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:07.360
and really saw

00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.000
that there really wasn't a piece of

00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:11.839
technology designed for an older adult

00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.160
user designed for senior living

00:12:11.839 --> 00:12:15.760
communities, so like being easy to use,

00:12:14.160 --> 00:12:17.360
you know, move it around

00:12:15.760 --> 00:12:19.920
really, really simple,

00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:22.240
um, and saw an opportunity to create

00:12:19.920 --> 00:12:23.839
something and do some good around it. And

00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:26.480
so that's kind of, led us on this path

00:12:23.839 --> 00:12:28.639
where early on, you know, my co-founders

00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:30.160
Jake and Devin, and I didn't really know

00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.480
any better. We just started walking into

00:12:30.160 --> 00:12:34.800
senior living communities with with our

00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:38.480
early version of the system,

00:12:34.800 --> 00:12:40.320
and some of the first demos would, you

00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:42.480
would see the staff crying. You'd see

00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:44.639
their jaws on the ground. You would hear

00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:47.120
stories of residents thought to be

00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:49.440
non-verbal were actually singing along

00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:51.360
or talking. We'd have residents coming up

00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:53.279
to us. I remember Vern Rock,

00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:55.680
who approached us.

00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:57.920
At 93-years-old, Independent Living, wore

00:12:55.680 --> 00:12:59.839
hearing aids. He used our headphones for

00:12:57.920 --> 00:13:01.279
a Resident Council meeting. Basically

00:12:59.839 --> 00:13:02.959
came up to us, and the first thing he

00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:04.480
said was, "thank you. I've been coming to

00:13:02.959 --> 00:13:06.079
this meeting for seven years, and this is

00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:08.560
the first time I've been, I've been able

00:13:06.079 --> 00:13:10.800
to hear everything." And it was continuing

00:13:08.560 --> 00:13:12.800
to see experiences like that and

00:13:10.800 --> 00:13:14.639
continuing to see the experiences, my,

00:13:12.800 --> 00:13:16.399
like my grandmother, and having the

00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:18.720
opportunity to try every time with her

00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:20.480
before she passed away.

00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:23.360
And, you know, had an opportunity to play

00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:25.040
some of her favorite music to her, and we

00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:28.040
ended up listening to some Glenn Miller

00:13:25.040 --> 00:13:28.040
together.

00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:42.480
It's the first time I think she said

00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:46.440
everything, anything was ever allowed to.

00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:46.440
So want to lower.

00:13:58.560 --> 00:14:03.120
That's great.

00:14:00.839 --> 00:14:05.279
Yeah, that's great.

00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:07.360
So tell us a little bit about how

00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:09.920
Eversound works. I know you said that's an

00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:11.279
early, um, an early example of it, but how

00:14:09.920 --> 00:14:14.480
does it work?

00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:16.560
Yeah, so Eversound is an amplification

00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:19.199
system that's designed for groups or

00:14:16.560 --> 00:14:21.760
one-on-one situations, and really

00:14:19.199 --> 00:14:24.079
there's a transmitter that you can plug

00:14:21.760 --> 00:14:28.639
any audio source in to. So think

00:14:24.079 --> 00:14:30.880
television AV system, computer, laptop,

00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:33.440
iPhone, iPods

00:14:30.880 --> 00:14:35.040
or a microphone, so lavalier mic, or we've

00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:36.720
got a wireless mic similar to the one

00:14:35.040 --> 00:14:39.600
I'm kind of wearing today. So you plug

00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:42.000
that directly into a transmitter. It then

00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:44.720
broadcasts to all the headphones

00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:47.279
wirelessly, and you can have up to 120

00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:49.360
headphones to one transmitter. In each

00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:51.760
headphone you can turn it up or turn it

00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:53.680
down. So what's nice about that it's

00:14:51.760 --> 00:14:54.880
amplifying what people should be

00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:56.959
listening to

00:14:54.880 --> 00:14:58.720
at a level comfortable to them and helps

00:14:56.959 --> 00:15:01.040
to alleviate some of the background

00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:03.199
noise that can be, you know, overwhelming

00:15:01.040 --> 00:15:04.880
or distracting at times.

00:15:03.199 --> 00:15:06.880
So they can adjust it themselves, and

00:15:04.880 --> 00:15:07.600
it's got some noise cancellation within

00:15:06.880 --> 00:15:08.880
it.

00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:11.199
So I would say it's definitely noise

00:15:08.880 --> 00:15:12.399
reducing, not cancellation. Just in case.

00:15:11.199 --> 00:15:14.560
We still want people to be aware of

00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:16.800
their surroundings, in case, like, sirens

00:15:14.560 --> 00:15:18.320
are going off or anything like that. Um,

00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:20.320
but what's nice, yeah, so there's just a

00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:23.279
big volume up and a big volume down, so

00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:24.800
we really tried to strive for simplicity.

00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:26.800
Yeah, um, and also made them, right? Like

00:15:24.800 --> 00:15:28.639
hearing aid-compatible, anti-microbial

00:15:26.800 --> 00:15:31.199
materials. The range, you're looking about

00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:33.360
300 feet in all directions,

00:15:31.199 --> 00:15:35.680
and no Wi-Fi or cellular reception, so

00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.199
you can bring it off campus

00:15:35.680 --> 00:15:39.600
and to the park. I've seen a community

00:15:37.199 --> 00:15:41.519
even bring it to Target for some reason,

00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:43.279
but-- For shopping?

00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:44.800
Yeah, exactly.

00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:47.120
That's great.

00:15:44.800 --> 00:15:48.480
So Lisa, let's turn back to you. Can you

00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.000
explain

00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:52.000
why this

00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:53.920
kind of works to help,

00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.320
um, communities, and what's sort of the

00:15:53.920 --> 00:15:58.560
importance of this technology?

00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:01.600
All right, well, just, you know, improving

00:15:58.560 --> 00:16:03.279
any individual's ability to hear speech

00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:06.000
and to hear the world around them

00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:07.680
improves their ability to engage on so

00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.120
many different levels. So you've heard

00:16:07.680 --> 00:16:11.440
Matt describe,

00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:15.279
um, you know ,just engaging cognitively

00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:18.480
with music, I, and conversation.

00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:21.279
I saw a picture the other day of a

00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:23.519
resident playing Bingo, and, like, that's a

00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:26.399
pretty heavy cognitive load to be able

00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:29.040
to do that and make that connection with,

00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:31.279
you know, hearing the numbers and, and

00:16:29.040 --> 00:16:34.160
seeing if you have that, that number on

00:16:31.279 --> 00:16:37.440
your Bingo card. Um, so it just allows

00:16:34.160 --> 00:16:40.399
people to participate more fully in all

00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:43.759
of the activities of daily living. So it

00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:45.440
improves a lot of those

00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.680
issues that I spoke of earlier. It

00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:50.079
improves their social engagement; it

00:16:47.680 --> 00:16:52.240
improves their physical engagement. I

00:16:50.079 --> 00:16:54.959
imagine these can be used for, like, that,

00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.920
like even seated exercise classes and

00:16:54.959 --> 00:16:57.920
such.

00:16:55.920 --> 00:17:00.959
Um, improves their cognitive engagement

00:16:57.920 --> 00:17:04.000
like I just said. It also, um, just

00:17:00.959 --> 00:17:05.520
improves their own self-efficacy.

00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.439
I thought it was interesting that Matt

00:17:05.520 --> 00:17:08.720
just mentioned that his grandmother, she

00:17:07.439 --> 00:17:10.319
didn't want to wear hearing aids, because

00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:12.959
she didn't like the way they made her

00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:15.280
look. And it's important to know that

00:17:12.959 --> 00:17:16.799
even, you know, our seniors who maybe

00:17:15.280 --> 00:17:19.199
don't look like they used to, but they're

00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:21.839
still concerned about that and how

00:17:19.199 --> 00:17:23.120
they see themselves and how they appear

00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:24.959
to the world.

00:17:23.120 --> 00:17:27.280
Um, so it's just,

00:17:24.959 --> 00:17:29.600
it just improves their quality of life

00:17:27.280 --> 00:17:32.559
overall, um,

00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:34.880
and improves their ability to age in a

00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.960
more healthy manner to whatever ability

00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:39.039
they can. I think another interesting

00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:41.919
point that I just thought of is, you know,

00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:44.400
we think of the impact of devices such

00:17:41.919 --> 00:17:46.720
as Eversound on the individual that's

00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:49.280
wearing it, but it also impacts the

00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:51.760
family members, you know, how important is

00:17:49.280 --> 00:17:54.000
it to be able to have that conversation

00:17:51.760 --> 00:17:56.720
with your grandmother, and maybe remember

00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:58.000
her a bit, you know ,as she used to be, or

00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.280
for,

00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.280
um...

00:17:59.280 --> 00:18:03.120
Yeah, just for the family members who

00:18:01.280 --> 00:18:04.799
miss those connections and those

00:18:03.120 --> 00:18:05.600
conversations. So

00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:07.520
it's,

00:18:05.600 --> 00:18:10.400
it affects the the family member, the

00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:12.080
caregiver, the communication partner as

00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:14.320
well, I think.

00:18:12.080 --> 00:18:16.000
Yeah, that ability to participate, right,

00:18:14.320 --> 00:18:19.200
in that group setting or in that

00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:21.760
interpersonal communication, so yeah.

00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:24.160
So Matt, what has it been like bringing

00:18:21.760 --> 00:18:26.480
Eversound into different senior living

00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:29.520
communities?

00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:31.679
Yeah, so it's been super rewarding, but

00:18:29.520 --> 00:18:33.600
you know, as any entrepreneurial journey,

00:18:31.679 --> 00:18:35.039
it's, it's definitely been a roller

00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:37.440
coaster ride. I think when we first

00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:40.000
started I had a full head of hair and 

00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:41.679
20/20 vision, and now it's illegal for me to

00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.919
drive at night without my glasses, and

00:18:41.679 --> 00:18:46.640
you can tell the other part here, but

00:18:43.919 --> 00:18:48.320
it's just been so, and, and you know, fast

00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.320
forward. Ever since we started this about

00:18:48.320 --> 00:18:51.919
five or six years ago, we're impacting

00:18:50.320 --> 00:18:53.840
over a thousand communities. You know,

00:18:51.919 --> 00:18:56.880
I'm grateful for the opportunity to work

00:18:53.840 --> 00:19:00.080
with, with Brookdale on, on some of those,

00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:01.440
um, but really it's been amazing to see

00:19:00.080 --> 00:19:03.200
some of the stories of some of the

00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:05.760
family members and some of the residents.

00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:07.520
And just the moments, you know, we talk of

00:19:05.760 --> 00:19:09.840
these moments of connection, these

00:19:07.520 --> 00:19:12.799
moments of, of love, these moments of

00:19:09.840 --> 00:19:14.640
positivity into, I think, you know, those

00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:17.120
moments, as we tend to get older, tend to

00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:18.880
become fewer and fewer. Um, which is

00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:20.960
unfortunate, but we're grateful for the

00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.559
opportunity to kind of create those and

00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:24.400
support some of the heroes in the front

00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.840
lines in these communities

00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:29.120
that are doing everything they can to

00:19:25.840 --> 00:19:30.799
really improve that resident experience.

00:19:29.120 --> 00:19:33.440
And we're grateful for the opportunity to

00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:34.799
continue to do that.

00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:36.240
That's great. So

00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:38.080
what kind of response have you been

00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:40.160
getting? Is there, are there some personal

00:19:38.080 --> 00:19:43.520
stories you could share with us?

00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:46.080
Yeah, so three stories come to mind. Um,

00:19:43.520 --> 00:19:48.320
one was from a community that I went and

00:19:46.080 --> 00:19:49.919
visited outside of Chicago that was

00:19:48.320 --> 00:19:51.120
interested in getting Eversound to

00:19:49.919 --> 00:19:52.480
their community. They're doing like a

00:19:51.120 --> 00:19:54.640
fundraiser for it, and they had been

00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.880
using it for about a month or so,

00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:58.400
and I had a little table set up, and they

00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.679
actually gave me the guest suite, so it

00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:00.880
was really nice to stay in that

00:19:59.679 --> 00:20:02.799
community.

00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:04.240
But one of their residents came up to me,

00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:06.720
and I remember like it was yesterday. Her

00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:09.120
name was Charlotte, and she doesn't even

00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:11.360
say "hi". The first thing she says to me is,

00:20:09.120 --> 00:20:13.440
"I have a new name for your company." And I

00:20:11.360 --> 00:20:15.520
was like, 'oh, crap! Where is this going?'

00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:17.520
because everyone's brutally honest, right?

00:20:15.520 --> 00:20:20.080
And she went on to say she would name

00:20:17.520 --> 00:20:21.679
Eversound Heaven for Hearing, and she

00:20:20.080 --> 00:20:23.760
went on to tell me that she runs like a

00:20:21.679 --> 00:20:26.559
brain fitness class amongst her peers

00:20:23.760 --> 00:20:28.960
there, and "before that I got Eversound

00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:30.640
people would leave out of frustration

00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:32.000
and get really frustrated with other,

00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:34.000
each other, because people keep saying,

00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.320
'what? I can't hear you,' or people would

00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.919
just not come entirely." But what she was

00:20:36.320 --> 00:20:40.159
telling me, since they started using

00:20:37.919 --> 00:20:42.000
Eversound in this group that more

00:20:40.159 --> 00:20:44.000
people were coming. People were staying

00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:46.240
longer. And what they were learning in

00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:47.840
this class they could actually continue

00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:49.840
and keep the conversation going

00:20:47.840 --> 00:20:51.520
throughout the day.

00:20:49.840 --> 00:20:53.919
So that was one thing that really stuck,

00:20:51.520 --> 00:20:55.919
uh, to me. Another one was a community

00:20:53.919 --> 00:20:57.520
group, one of our partners based in

00:20:55.919 --> 00:20:59.520
California

00:20:57.520 --> 00:21:01.039
that primarily deal in helping people

00:20:59.520 --> 00:21:02.559
living with dementia. And some of the

00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:04.240
stuff they were telling us is they

00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:06.640
thought where people were in

00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:07.840
later stages of dementia, because, you

00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.240
know, they weren't engaging or

00:21:07.840 --> 00:21:12.400
participating weren't even speaking, and

00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:14.000
they started using Eversound,

00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:16.640
and that's when they started to see

00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:18.480
almost like this, this veil come off, and

00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:19.440
like, people would start to engage, start

00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:20.720
singing.

00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:22.559
We probably have all seen the "Alive

00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:24.159
Inside" video, and they're doing that, but

00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:26.240
like at scale.

00:21:24.159 --> 00:21:28.240
Um, and then they also told us that they

00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.880
started using Eversound as a tool for

00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:32.880
whether redirection or even to reduce

00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.720
medication, which is just so powerful

00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:36.400
when you can think of a natural way to

00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:39.120
go about that.

00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:41.919
But I think one of my, yeah, and one of my

00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:44.400
my favorite stories, uh, comes from one of

00:21:41.919 --> 00:21:47.679
our partners in Virginia

00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:49.919
Commonwealth, where, you know, I want to

00:21:47.679 --> 00:21:53.360
introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, who

00:21:49.919 --> 00:21:56.400
have been married for over 40 years.

00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:58.320
You know, Mr. Thomas unfortunately started

00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:00.559
developing dementia, and when Mrs. Thomas

00:21:58.320 --> 00:22:02.320
could no longer take care of him, she

00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.720
moved him into the local community and

00:22:02.320 --> 00:22:06.480
would still visit him daily, and on this

00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:09.200
day in particular,

00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:10.799
they decided to use Eversound to listen

00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:12.320
to their wedding song again. And she said

00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:14.720
it was the first time in those five

00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:17.120
years where she felt like a wife and not

00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:20.000
a caregiver.

00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:22.240
Wow. Can I jump in, Janet? Um, there's a

00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.240
question in the Chat about how to, how is

00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:26.960
this different than hearing aids? And I

00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:29.679
think this video is a great example,

00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:32.320
that it provides a shared

00:22:29.679 --> 00:22:34.720
experience, and, and maybe a private

00:22:32.320 --> 00:22:36.480
experience, right? Um,

00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:38.559
the other folks in the room can't hear

00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:41.280
the music that that couple is dancing to.

00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:43.440
It's just going through, um, the, the

00:22:41.280 --> 00:22:46.240
headphones to those,

00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:48.559
um, to that couple, so it, you know, creates

00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:51.280
this intimate and shared experience as

00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:55.120
well, and I think Lisa talked about that

00:22:51.280 --> 00:22:57.919
a little bit, with the application of

00:22:55.120 --> 00:22:59.280
this amplification system, and I know it

00:22:57.919 --> 00:23:00.559
sounds a little bit like a commercial

00:22:59.280 --> 00:23:02.320
for Eversound. We're getting some

00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:04.559
comments about that,

00:23:02.320 --> 00:23:06.799
but actually this is the only game in

00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:09.520
town. This is the only technology of its

00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:12.480
sort that we've really been able to find,

00:23:09.520 --> 00:23:15.200
um, that's applicable to senior living, so,

00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:17.760
um, you know, I do think that the, the

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:20.320
application with family visiting, and

00:23:17.760 --> 00:23:23.039
certainly during COVID when we had some,

00:23:20.320 --> 00:23:25.679
you know, need to keep people apart or

00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:27.600
Plexiglass screens in between people, or

00:23:25.679 --> 00:23:29.280
those kinds of things. This technology

00:23:27.600 --> 00:23:32.799
really was able to,

00:23:29.280 --> 00:23:35.039
you know, bring people back into that

00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:36.720
intimate conversation that you expect to

00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:39.039
be able to have with your with your

00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:40.640
loved ones. Well, that's the interesting

00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.520
part to me about what Matt was saying is

00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:43.360
when

00:23:41.520 --> 00:23:45.120
the hearing loss was addressed, when

00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:46.400
something was provided so that they

00:23:45.120 --> 00:23:48.960
could hear,

00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:50.400
it turns out some people weren't as, they

00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.760
didn't have the level of dementia that

00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:53.440
was thought they, they were able to

00:23:51.760 --> 00:23:54.559
participate. Suddenly they could come

00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:56.320
back in

00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:58.000
to the environment, back into the

00:23:56.320 --> 00:23:59.200
community, back to their loved ones in a

00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.799
way that

00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:02.960
they may not have known. Like, they, to

00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:04.720
your point, it wasn't as far gone as they

00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:06.720
thought, but the hearing is what

00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:08.559
prevented them from

00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:10.159
from being part of that, and I think that

00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:12.159
that's kind of the key thing here, is

00:24:10.159 --> 00:24:14.320
like fixing that problem or addressing

00:24:12.159 --> 00:24:16.480
the hearing problem allows people to

00:24:14.320 --> 00:24:17.840
participate more. That's right, and, and I

00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:19.120
think that that's the critical part,

00:24:17.840 --> 00:24:21.120
right? And I don't think it matters how

00:24:19.120 --> 00:24:22.880
it is, I mean, yeah, so.

00:24:21.120 --> 00:24:24.960
Yeah, this is the only thing, but

00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:27.039
regardless how you address it.

00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:29.760
Yeah. And I think the other, uh, point as

00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.440
it applies to dementia is that, um, as

00:24:29.760 --> 00:24:34.000
somebody who's worked with folks living

00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:35.360
with advanced dementia for over 35 years,

00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.000
I can tell you that

00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:40.400
hearing aids are problematic with people

00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.960
beyond the middle stage.

00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:44.880
People no longer understand the meaning

00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:46.960
of having something in their ear. This

00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:49.120
happens with dentures as well. And they

00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:50.080
may begin to reject the hearing aid over

00:24:49.120 --> 00:24:52.480
time.

00:24:50.080 --> 00:24:54.000
Um, they're also hard to keep track of. I

00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:55.679
know there's some devices out there to

00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.600
keep things clipped to people's shirts

00:24:55.679 --> 00:24:59.279
and that sort of thing, but

00:24:57.600 --> 00:25:01.679
people may actually just reject the

00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:03.600
feeling of the hearing aid

00:25:01.679 --> 00:25:06.320
and really not be able to do all that

00:25:03.600 --> 00:25:08.080
cognitive work of, of bringing in that

00:25:06.320 --> 00:25:09.520
information from the ear and

00:25:08.080 --> 00:25:11.760
interpreting it in the brain and the

00:25:09.520 --> 00:25:15.200
parietal lobe of the brain, right? That's

00:25:11.760 --> 00:25:18.000
really going to become affected, um,

00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:20.720
and, and to Lisa's point, you know, that

00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:22.640
the amount of cognitive drain that that

00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:25.039
really puts on folks,

00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:26.799
um, trying to figure out what they're

00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:29.200
hearing, what they're listening to when

00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:32.240
things are muffled. And this is a very

00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:35.039
easy, um, easy in, you know, we have not

00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:36.720
had a lot of issues with folks rejecting

00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:38.640
the headphones. And I think they may be

00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:40.320
more comfortable.

00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:43.279
They're not walking around with them all

00:25:40.320 --> 00:25:45.120
of the time, and so I think it is, uh,

00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:46.720
sometimes a lot easier for folks with

00:25:45.120 --> 00:25:48.559
dementia to

00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:50.960
get used to this device.

00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:52.880
Was it comfortable? It's a known use

00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:54.400
case, really. We understand how those work,

00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:55.840
right? You know what? I had found it. Yeah.

00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:58.559
We know what those are, right? We've worn

00:25:55.840 --> 00:26:00.159
them our whole lives. So what, what, what

00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:01.360
started you bringing Eversound into

00:26:00.159 --> 00:26:03.600
Brookdale?

00:26:01.360 --> 00:26:06.400
So you know, I'm always, I'm constantly

00:26:03.600 --> 00:26:08.240
looking for, um, great technology that

00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:10.000
applies, um,

00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:12.000
well, and sometimes I, I run into

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:15.120
technology that maybe the, the user

00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:17.679
didn't think was going to apply, right? Um,

00:26:15.120 --> 00:26:19.840
to dementia or to, to even issues of

00:26:17.679 --> 00:26:21.840
aging, and I think Eversound's a great

00:26:19.840 --> 00:26:24.880
example of that. These were,

00:26:21.840 --> 00:26:26.880
uh, pretty young men when I met them, to

00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:29.200
Matt's point, and, um,

00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:31.039
you know, they were, they were interested

00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:32.960
in things that,

00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:34.799
creating devices that applied to younger

00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:37.600
people, and I think when they saw the use

00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:39.520
case for aging and for dementia, um,

00:26:37.600 --> 00:26:41.440
realized that's a, that's an awfully big

00:26:39.520 --> 00:26:43.840
market out there, right? So,

00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:47.520
um, I'm always interested in technology

00:26:43.840 --> 00:26:48.799
that has a purpose and a meaning for, uh,

00:26:47.520 --> 00:26:50.720
for aging,

00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:52.720
and really something that helps us

00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:54.960
provide what I call a prosthetic

00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:57.360
environment at Clare Bridge.

00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:59.039
You know, we really try to make sure that

00:26:57.360 --> 00:27:01.200
everything we have in the environment

00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:02.080
helps support that person,

00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:04.000
um,

00:27:02.080 --> 00:27:06.320
with those symptoms of dementia and

00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:09.760
doesn't, you know, further cause what we

00:27:06.320 --> 00:27:11.520
call excess disability, right? Where, um,

00:27:09.760 --> 00:27:13.600
those symptoms of dementia are made

00:27:11.520 --> 00:27:15.679
worse by something in the environment,

00:27:13.600 --> 00:27:18.000
and hearing loss is, is one of those

00:27:15.679 --> 00:27:20.720
things that certainly can make those

00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:23.120
symptoms of dementia worse. So,

00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:25.600
um, so I was excited when I saw the

00:27:23.120 --> 00:27:27.600
technology, you know, we did a little

00:27:25.600 --> 00:27:28.960
pilot. We didn't really need to call it a

00:27:27.600 --> 00:27:31.600
pilot, because I was pretty sure the

00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:34.320
technology was was effective after

00:27:31.600 --> 00:27:36.240
seeing, um seeing it in use and using it

00:27:34.320 --> 00:27:38.640
myself. Um,

00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:41.360
and then we're slowly starting to

00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:44.320
introduce it into our communities, um,

00:27:41.360 --> 00:27:47.760
and, and really seeing a very positive,

00:27:44.320 --> 00:27:50.880
uh, response, um, both in group, you know,

00:27:47.760 --> 00:27:52.720
group settings, um, and the ability things

00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:54.320
like the Resident Council meetings,

00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:56.880
playing Bingo,

00:27:54.320 --> 00:27:58.640
um, you know, exercise class. Those types

00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:59.679
of things.

00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.360
yeah

00:27:59.679 --> 00:28:02.399
I, you know, with the cognitive load that

00:28:01.360 --> 00:28:04.080
Lisa talked, with something I never

00:28:02.399 --> 00:28:06.720
really even considered, like, all of that,

00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:08.480
and, like, early on, you know, convincing

00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:10.720
people to keep their hearing aid in, but

00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:12.399
certainly in these community situations,

00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:14.159
giving them a tool or a device that

00:28:12.399 --> 00:28:14.960
helps them participate and connect is

00:28:14.159 --> 00:28:16.480
great.

00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:18.159
Um, can you share with us a little bit

00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:20.640
about the residents' experience with the

00:28:18.159 --> 00:28:22.240
technology at Brookdale?

00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:25.120
Yeah, I think it's been, it's been

00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:27.039
extremely positive, and, you know,

00:28:25.120 --> 00:28:29.600
to Matt's point, that, you know, there are

00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:31.679
these stories, and very positive stories,

00:28:29.600 --> 00:28:33.600
and I think, you know, we were lucky that

00:28:31.679 --> 00:28:36.000
we had just started this

00:28:33.600 --> 00:28:38.240
process with Eversound prior to the

00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:39.760
pandemic and prior to the restrictions

00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:41.039
that were placed on us during the

00:28:39.760 --> 00:28:43.120
pandemic.

00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.520
And, of course, during the pandemic we saw

00:28:43.120 --> 00:28:48.320
this explosion in,

00:28:45.520 --> 00:28:50.559
um, virtual visiting, right? As you see

00:28:48.320 --> 00:28:54.000
here, uh, in this picture, where I think

00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:56.159
we're using an iPad, um, to visit, and you

00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:59.279
know, the, the technology is helping this

00:28:56.159 --> 00:29:00.640
person, you know, hear the iPad, and that's

00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:02.480
really critical.

00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:04.960
Um, again, going back to what I was

00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:07.279
talking about with those intimate visits.

00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:10.080
This is our community in Oklahoma City

00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:12.559
Southwest, um, and they do a tremendous

00:29:10.080 --> 00:29:15.039
job and did through the pandemic of, of

00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:17.039
continuing on with traditions. This is a

00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:19.039
couple celebrating, uh, I believe their

00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:20.880
wedding anniversary.

00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:23.440
One is a resident in the Clare Bridge,

00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:25.919
and, and obviously one is a visitor. And

00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:27.279
they were able to continue to have that

00:29:25.919 --> 00:29:29.600
intimate dinner,

00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:32.000
um, you know, because of the use of the

00:29:29.600 --> 00:29:35.200
Eversound,

00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:38.080
then here a great example of, um, you know,

00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:41.520
being able to get, uh, directions for

00:29:38.080 --> 00:29:44.960
exercise to into people's, um,

00:29:41.520 --> 00:29:46.960
into people's ears. Um, and, you know, those

00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:48.880
folks are all in different places, and,

00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:50.799
and that was certainly happening during,

00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:52.799
uh, the pandemic. We had folks sitting in

00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:55.120
their doorways, doing, you know, all down,

00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:57.600
a hallway, and they all have the system on,

00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:59.360
and we're able to hear, um, the

00:29:57.600 --> 00:30:01.600
the coordinator who might have been

00:29:59.360 --> 00:30:03.919
moving up and down the hallways. So,

00:30:01.600 --> 00:30:05.919
um, it, it really does help us with group

00:30:03.919 --> 00:30:07.919
programming as well.

00:30:05.919 --> 00:30:10.720
Yeah, that ability to participate in all

00:30:07.919 --> 00:30:12.640
of those things and be equal, right?

00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:14.000
Everyone can adjust it to themselves, and

00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:16.480
I think that, that,

00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.159
you know, that mutuality is important. So

00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:19.840
really quick, I want to remind everyone

00:30:18.159 --> 00:30:21.520
we're going to get to a Q&A session in a

00:30:19.840 --> 00:30:23.840
minute; if you have a question, please use

00:30:21.520 --> 00:30:25.840
the Q&A button. I see some questions

00:30:23.840 --> 00:30:27.760
already coming in, so that's great. Please

00:30:25.840 --> 00:30:28.799
use the Q&A, and drop any questions in

00:30:27.760 --> 00:30:30.000
there, we're going to get to those in a

00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:31.039
few minutes.

00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:33.760
Um,

00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:35.360
Lisa, I'd like to turn back to you.

00:30:33.760 --> 00:30:37.600
What should those of us with senior

00:30:35.360 --> 00:30:39.919
loved ones, or ourselves, will look out

00:30:37.600 --> 00:30:41.600
for in terms of dementia and hearing

00:30:39.919 --> 00:30:43.919
loss?

00:30:41.600 --> 00:30:45.520
Well, there's no doubt that

00:30:43.919 --> 00:30:48.559
hearing loss can,

00:30:45.520 --> 00:30:50.880
can be misconstrued for dementia,

00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:53.679
mistaken for dementia, so when we see

00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:56.320
someone who is, maybe, uninterested in

00:30:53.679 --> 00:30:58.559
participating. Disconnected.

00:30:56.320 --> 00:31:00.480
Unable to answer or participate

00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:03.919
appropriately.

00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:06.799
Reluctant to engage socially.

00:31:03.919 --> 00:31:07.600
Is this simply because they can't hear,

00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:10.320
or

00:31:07.600 --> 00:31:12.720
do they have some cognitive decline? I

00:31:10.320 --> 00:31:14.480
mean, the reality is in the population

00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:15.760
that we're talking about, it's probably a

00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:18.320
bit of both.

00:31:15.760 --> 00:31:21.120
But at the very least we need to try to

00:31:18.320 --> 00:31:23.440
figure it out, you know? Is this hearing

00:31:21.120 --> 00:31:25.600
loss? If I give this person some type of

00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:28.080
amplification, are they going to be able

00:31:25.600 --> 00:31:30.960
to participate? And

00:31:28.080 --> 00:31:33.200
again, I have seen people's faces light

00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:35.919
up. I have had patients who the first

00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:38.320
time that I saw them I thought for sure

00:31:35.919 --> 00:31:41.360
this person has significant cognitive

00:31:38.320 --> 00:31:42.960
decline. And when I put in my setting

00:31:41.360 --> 00:31:45.120
here at the university, when I put

00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:48.399
hearing aids on them,

00:31:45.120 --> 00:31:51.600
they were not at all

00:31:48.399 --> 00:31:53.760
cognitively impaired. So we have to figure

00:31:51.600 --> 00:31:56.240
it out, what's hearing loss? What's

00:31:53.760 --> 00:31:58.000
dementia? The reality is it's probably

00:31:56.240 --> 00:32:01.519
some of both.

00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:04.799
And we have to think of this as

00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:06.640
almost like a double hit on the brain, so

00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:07.600
this population that we're discussing

00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:09.840
today,

00:32:07.600 --> 00:32:12.159
yes, they probably all do have some level

00:32:09.840 --> 00:32:14.559
of cognitive decline in dementia. But

00:32:12.159 --> 00:32:16.720
then, when you add an untreated hearing

00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:19.360
loss on top of that,

00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:21.679
it serves as just a double hit on the

00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:22.960
brain, so if we can alleviate at least

00:32:21.679 --> 00:32:25.440
part of that.

00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:27.039
It's going to, you know, again, help the

00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:28.480
quality of life,

00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:30.720
maybe,

00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:32.960
prevent some of those other issues that

00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:36.000
I mentioned, like the social isolation,

00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:38.240
the physical decline,

00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:40.480
the increase in falls, which is huge in

00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:40.480
this,

00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:46.880
yeah, population. You know one other thing

00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:49.360
that strikes me as, uh, as, as Lisa's

00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:52.399
speaking, is this is another area of

00:32:49.360 --> 00:32:55.840
aging where we see stigma really

00:32:52.399 --> 00:32:58.720
affect, um, folks'

00:32:55.840 --> 00:33:01.360
ability to live a full life and improve

00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:03.600
their well-being. And I have a different,

00:33:01.360 --> 00:33:06.000
um, whose

00:33:03.600 --> 00:33:08.480
father is, yeah, cognitively he's great.

00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:10.720
He's a retired gentleman. He's a, he's a

00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:12.880
widower. He's, you know, he's, he's out and

00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:15.519
about, but socially he's really been

00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:16.559
suffering, um, because he just can't hear.

00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:18.880
And

00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:22.960
the stigma of not wanting to be seen

00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:25.840
with a hearing aid was keeping him from,

00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:27.919
from essentially participating in all

00:33:25.840 --> 00:33:30.480
aspects of life. He no longer went out to

00:33:27.919 --> 00:33:32.880
dinner. He was, you know, he sat in

00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:34.080
a chair at family events and didn't, you

00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:36.640
know, didn't participate in the

00:33:34.080 --> 00:33:38.559
conversation at all, and it was finally

00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:40.880
one of his peers

00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:42.799
who got a hearing aid and said, "look, you

00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:44.960
can't even see it. It's not, you know, it's

00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:46.640
nothing. Just go in, and do it."

00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:48.799
Um, it was finally really hearing from

00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:51.120
one of his peers that he was, he was

00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:52.559
being stubborn about this and needed to

00:33:51.120 --> 00:33:55.200
to move on. But

00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:57.919
you know, you wonder as, as the population

00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:59.919
ages, and as we, um, really move into this

00:33:57.919 --> 00:34:02.399
elder bloom that we're moving into

00:33:59.919 --> 00:34:06.799
demographically, if, you know, hearing aids

00:34:02.399 --> 00:34:06.799
aren't the new AirPods or, oh, no,

00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:14.159
I think you combine that stigma of, of

00:34:11.919 --> 00:34:16.800
being hard of hearing, and that the, you

00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:20.800
know, really ageist, you know, awful kind

00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:20.800
of depictions of, ah,

00:34:21.359 --> 00:34:26.560
along with confusion. And early confusion

00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:29.040
that people may feel,

00:34:26.560 --> 00:34:31.040
um, and sorting all of that out, there's a

00:34:29.040 --> 00:34:33.520
lot, you know, we, we need to be mindful of

00:34:31.040 --> 00:34:36.000
how stigma affects people's ability to

00:34:33.520 --> 00:34:37.359
get these issues taken care of. It's

00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:38.960
interesting, because, yes, hearing aids

00:34:37.359 --> 00:34:40.879
have come such a long way from the ones

00:34:38.960 --> 00:34:42.560
that my grandparents were... Right. They're

00:34:40.879 --> 00:34:44.720
smaller. They're more discreet, and you're

00:34:42.560 --> 00:34:46.839
right. That social proof of, here's

00:34:44.720 --> 00:34:48.879
somebody that has one that's using it

00:34:46.839 --> 00:34:50.800
successfully, like, a lot of that, I think

00:34:48.879 --> 00:34:52.320
will go a long way to helping them

00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:54.720
realize that this can help improve your

00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:56.320
life, and they are more discreet. Yeah,

00:34:54.720 --> 00:34:59.200
AirPods, we're all going to be wearing

00:34:56.320 --> 00:35:01.040
them, right? We already do!

00:34:59.200 --> 00:35:02.880
One, one thing that I did want to mention

00:35:01.040 --> 00:35:04.320
that I thought of, uh,

00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:06.000
regarding some of the questions that

00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:07.760
I've seen about, well, how do these differ

00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:10.240
from hearing aids, and why are we talking

00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:11.920
about devices like this?

00:35:10.240 --> 00:35:14.400
Um,

00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:17.520
there are barriers to hearing. Healthcare

00:35:14.400 --> 00:35:19.359
stigma is one of them. But in, again, in

00:35:17.520 --> 00:35:22.480
the population that we're talking about

00:35:19.359 --> 00:35:25.359
here, other barriers are cost

00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:27.839
and accessibility. I don't know

00:35:25.359 --> 00:35:30.240
how many people realize that almost no

00:35:27.839 --> 00:35:32.400
insurance companies cover hearing aids,

00:35:30.240 --> 00:35:34.800
and they can cost thousands of dollars.

00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:36.880
They do cost thousands of dollars, and

00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:39.200
for some people that's just not a

00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:41.359
possibility. And then there's the issue

00:35:39.200 --> 00:35:43.680
of accessibility. I work at the

00:35:41.359 --> 00:35:45.920
University of Maryland. People need to

00:35:43.680 --> 00:35:48.480
come to the university for multiple

00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:51.760
visits for me to fit them appropriately

00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:53.680
with hearing aids. That's probably not

00:35:51.760 --> 00:35:55.280
feasible for a lot of people in the

00:35:53.680 --> 00:35:56.560
adult living communities that we're

00:35:55.280 --> 00:35:58.720
talking about.

00:35:56.560 --> 00:36:00.560
So a device, any device, that's going to

00:35:58.720 --> 00:36:04.079
help them to hear better and engage

00:36:00.560 --> 00:36:05.200
better is, is a good thing, um, that can

00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:08.320
overcome

00:36:05.200 --> 00:36:09.680
barriers for.. um. Yeah.

00:36:08.320 --> 00:36:11.440
Yeah.

00:36:09.680 --> 00:36:13.440
It just adds to that. I mean, Eversound

00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:14.960
aside, I think Dr. Rickard brings up a

00:36:13.440 --> 00:36:16.480
great point, because, you know, when you,

00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:18.800
when you asked what got me interested in

00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:20.880
hearing loss, Eversound aside, the

00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:23.280
numbers say about 80% of people over the

00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:24.880
age of 85 have some sort of hearing loss.

00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:26.720
One in five that could benefit from a

00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:28.320
hearing aid or actually using one on a

00:36:26.720 --> 00:36:30.800
consistent basis.

00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:32.400
And there's this huge gap, you know? Call

00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:34.720
it the silent epidemic with a pun

00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:36.480
intended. And Dr. Rickard hit all the

00:36:34.720 --> 00:36:38.800
negative health effects, and I think if

00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:41.440
there's one thing to take of this is

00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:44.640
healthy hearing is important, and

00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:46.960
looking for tools to help you to do that

00:36:44.640 --> 00:36:48.480
is important as well. Whatever that might

00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:51.359
be, Eversound aside, we're not trying to

00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:53.440
sell anything to anybody on this call.

00:36:51.359 --> 00:36:55.200
We're just excited at the opportunity to

00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:58.079
bring more light

00:36:55.200 --> 00:37:00.960
and spotlight this issue as being a

00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:03.200
critical issue to, you know, older adults

00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:04.800
across the entire world. Well, Matt, and,

00:37:03.200 --> 00:37:07.200
and they think that it's valuable

00:37:04.800 --> 00:37:09.280
health. Hearing is health, right? I mean it

00:37:07.200 --> 00:37:11.599
is part of health, and so,

00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:14.240
um, it's an important topic in whatever

00:37:11.599 --> 00:37:15.760
way we can, we can help people with that.

00:37:14.240 --> 00:37:17.359
It's going to help their overall life,

00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:19.839
their health, their, their socialism, all

00:37:17.359 --> 00:37:22.320
of that socialization, all of that. So let

00:37:19.839 --> 00:37:24.320
me think, one other point

00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:26.160
to that, to this, this

00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:28.640
thought line:

00:37:26.160 --> 00:37:30.800
Dr. Franklin at Johns Hopkins [University] does a lot

00:37:28.640 --> 00:37:33.440
of research in this area. He has a really

00:37:30.800 --> 00:37:35.359
powerful slide or point that he makes is,

00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:38.000
he'll show a picture of a hearing test

00:37:35.359 --> 00:37:40.000
result of a mild to moderate hearing

00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:42.240
loss, which is significant, and then he'll

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.720
show a 12-year-old child, and he'll say

00:37:42.240 --> 00:37:46.960
this is, this child's hearing loss, nobody

00:37:44.720 --> 00:37:49.920
would argue that that child needs

00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:52.320
amplification for obvious reasons. But

00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:55.440
what if this same hearing loss belonged

00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:58.960
to this 82-year-old man? Oh, wow. It's just

00:37:55.440 --> 00:38:00.880
aging. No, it has definite implications.

00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:02.960
All these health implications that I've

00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:04.800
mentioned today, and it needs to be

00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:07.119
treated too. So,

00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:09.760
um, we need to start thinking along those

00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:11.040
lines. That it matters for older people.

00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:13.200
Absolutely.

00:38:11.040 --> 00:38:15.839
Absolutely. And, and Lisa, are there ways

00:38:13.200 --> 00:38:18.880
that we can help prevent or delay

00:38:15.839 --> 00:38:20.480
hearing loss and dementia? Well, we, uh,

00:38:18.880 --> 00:38:23.520
we're hearing more and more about a

00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:26.240
concept called the Life Course Approach

00:38:23.520 --> 00:38:30.240
to just healthy aging or to aging in

00:38:26.240 --> 00:38:33.359
general. The concept that, um,

00:38:30.240 --> 00:38:36.160
healthy aging starts very early on, and

00:38:33.359 --> 00:38:37.599
they're, it's a lifelong process, and

00:38:36.160 --> 00:38:40.000
there are some things that we can't

00:38:37.599 --> 00:38:43.119
control. I can't control my genetics or

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:45.040
my biology to a degree. I can't control

00:38:43.119 --> 00:38:48.000
my, um,

00:38:45.040 --> 00:38:50.079
my environment or my socioeconomic

00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:52.400
status, but there are some things that I

00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:54.960
can control. And this is where I have to

00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:57.839
try to educate people. I can control my

00:38:54.960 --> 00:39:02.480
exposure to noise, and I can start that

00:38:57.839 --> 00:39:05.920
early on. I can be aware of other

00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:08.480
habits that may impact my hearing.

00:39:05.920 --> 00:39:12.079
Smoking, some medications,

00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:14.560
and if I can educate people early on

00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:16.400
that these things matter

00:39:14.560 --> 00:39:18.320
as we progress through our life. And it's

00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:19.920
not only for hearing; it's for everything,

00:39:18.320 --> 00:39:21.119
right? We have to think in terms of a

00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:23.839
long-term,

00:39:21.119 --> 00:39:26.160
um, Life Course Approach.

00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:28.720
The good news, though, is that hearing

00:39:26.160 --> 00:39:32.880
loss is considered what we call

00:39:28.720 --> 00:39:34.480
a modifiable late life risk.

00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:36.240
So some things,

00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:38.240
for me, if, you know, what's going to

00:39:36.240 --> 00:39:41.200
determine if I get heart disease,

00:39:38.240 --> 00:39:45.520
diabetes as I age or things that I did

00:39:41.200 --> 00:39:47.520
back in my 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s.

00:39:45.520 --> 00:39:49.680
That's a long time.

00:39:47.520 --> 00:39:52.640
But hearing loss, with hearing loss, it's

00:39:49.680 --> 00:39:55.520
never too late to start to engage

00:39:52.640 --> 00:39:59.359
somebody, so even if they're 70 or 80 or

00:39:55.520 --> 00:40:02.880
90, it's never too late to change some of

00:39:59.359 --> 00:40:04.160
these negative effects of untreated

00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:06.480
hearing loss.

00:40:04.160 --> 00:40:08.560
So I mean, to your answer, I have to try

00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:11.440
to educate people

00:40:08.560 --> 00:40:14.880
about the things that they can control. I

00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:18.000
try to educate them about the,

00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:19.760
um, impact of untreated hearing loss. Try

00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:22.240
to reduce the stigma,

00:40:19.760 --> 00:40:25.520
encourage people to be tested earlier,

00:40:22.240 --> 00:40:29.280
and more often, and to act earlier,

00:40:25.520 --> 00:40:29.280
because the sooner you

00:40:29.520 --> 00:40:34.880
address hearing loss, the easier. It's

00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:36.480
going to be for you, long-term in terms

00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:39.440
of mitigating some of these other

00:40:36.480 --> 00:40:42.400
negative impacts, like the cognitive

00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:44.880
decline and the social isolation. So

00:40:42.400 --> 00:40:46.880
education, reduction of stigma, and

00:40:44.880 --> 00:40:48.480
knowing that it's never too late to

00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:50.960
start this.

00:40:48.480 --> 00:40:52.800
That's great. Thank you. Thank you so much.

00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:54.560
So we have a lot of questions coming in

00:40:52.800 --> 00:40:56.640
the Q&A button. So

00:40:54.560 --> 00:40:58.000
it's time to hear from all of you. If you

00:40:56.640 --> 00:41:00.480
have any questions, and you haven't

00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:02.560
popped them in yet, please do, um, to ask

00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:04.880
your question. Look for the Q&A icon at

00:41:02.560 --> 00:41:07.040
the bottom of the screen. Click Q&A, type

00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:08.240
in your question, and then send it in, and

00:41:07.040 --> 00:41:10.079
we're going to get to as many questions

00:41:08.240 --> 00:41:11.119
as we want. And don't worry, like I said,

00:41:10.079 --> 00:41:12.880
you're all going to get a follow-up

00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:14.400
email with this a recording of the

00:41:12.880 --> 00:41:16.960
webinar. You can refer to it later or

00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:18.800
share it with family and friends. So the

00:41:16.960 --> 00:41:20.400
first question

00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:21.920
is,

00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:23.680
and Matt, I think this is for you, maybe.

00:41:21.920 --> 00:41:26.240
I'm not understanding, but what makes

00:41:23.680 --> 00:41:28.160
Eversound different than any headphone

00:41:26.240 --> 00:41:30.400
I can go buy at a store?

00:41:28.160 --> 00:41:31.200
Yeah, absolutely. Great question. And I

00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:32.640
wish,

00:41:31.200 --> 00:41:33.920
I wish there wasn't that many

00:41:32.640 --> 00:41:35.839
differences. It could have been a lot

00:41:33.920 --> 00:41:37.119
cheaper to develop this product from

00:41:35.839 --> 00:41:41.680
from scratch.

00:41:37.119 --> 00:41:41.680
Uh, really, what's different in this is

00:41:42.319 --> 00:41:46.079
headphones are great

00:41:43.920 --> 00:41:49.040
one-to-one, right? If I'm having my

00:41:46.079 --> 00:41:51.440
headphones paired to my iPhone. Amazing.

00:41:49.040 --> 00:41:53.359
It helps me. But where we solve the

00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:54.880
problem is, is when groups of people are

00:41:53.359 --> 00:41:57.359
getting together, again, things like

00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:59.359
Resident Council meetings, Bingo, fitness

00:41:57.359 --> 00:42:01.920
classes. Everyone's hearings at different

00:41:59.359 --> 00:42:04.079
levels. So this allows, I think Juliet, you

00:42:01.920 --> 00:42:05.920
kind of said it best, a shared experience,

00:42:04.079 --> 00:42:06.800
so people are listening to the same

00:42:05.920 --> 00:42:08.560
thing

00:42:06.800 --> 00:42:10.079
at a level comfortable to them. So

00:42:08.560 --> 00:42:11.760
imagine if you're all in the worship

00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:14.160
service. You've got the headphones. You're

00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:15.440
all listening to the same thing, but

00:42:14.160 --> 00:42:18.319
you're listening it at a level

00:42:15.440 --> 00:42:20.880
comfortable to them.

00:42:18.319 --> 00:42:22.480
And also with the the microphone input

00:42:20.880 --> 00:42:23.599
of the transmitter, we definitely find

00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:25.359
that it's helpful it's not just

00:42:23.599 --> 00:42:28.079
something that listens to music or the

00:42:25.359 --> 00:42:29.599
TV. There's a microphone component, so I

00:42:28.079 --> 00:42:31.359
could just plug that directly into the

00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:33.520
transmitter, and it then would broadcast

00:42:31.359 --> 00:42:36.160
to that headphone.

00:42:33.520 --> 00:42:38.720
Got it? In enough. Quick follow on that:

00:42:36.160 --> 00:42:40.000
do you use your Eversound with your hearing

00:42:38.720 --> 00:42:42.240
aids? Like, are you putting it on over

00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:43.440
your hearing aids, or are these different

00:42:42.240 --> 00:42:44.880
things? 
You use your hearing aid when

00:42:43.440 --> 00:42:47.280
you're not using this? How do they work

00:42:44.880 --> 00:42:49.280
together, or do they--? Yes, so we design

00:42:47.280 --> 00:42:50.960
Eversound with purpose. We did design

00:42:49.280 --> 00:42:52.319
it, so it is hearing aid-compatible, so

00:42:50.960 --> 00:42:54.720
people can put it right on top of their

00:42:52.319 --> 00:42:56.480
hearing aids, no problem. I've also seen

00:42:54.720 --> 00:42:58.000
situations of people taking out their

00:42:56.480 --> 00:43:00.560
hearing aids, which we usually don't

00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:02.079
recommend, uh. and then putting Eversound

00:43:00.560 --> 00:43:03.200
on. And they've actually told us they can

00:43:02.079 --> 00:43:04.960
hear better, because again, it's

00:43:03.200 --> 00:43:07.119
amplifying what they should be listening

00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:07.119
to.

00:43:07.280 --> 00:43:13.520
Got it. And, um, a question for you, um, Lisa,

00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:16.880
Whoopi just scooted away, right? What was

00:43:13.520 --> 00:43:18.560
it? Are there any non-obvious early signs

00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:20.640
of hearing loss that we should look out

00:43:18.560 --> 00:43:22.079
for in ourselves or loved ones in order

00:43:20.640 --> 00:43:24.800
to treat it early? Anything that's like

00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:24.800
non-obvious,

00:43:25.119 --> 00:43:28.800
um,

00:43:26.359 --> 00:43:30.560
non-obvious, would be?

00:43:28.800 --> 00:43:33.280
I don't know. I think of most things are

00:43:30.560 --> 00:43:34.560
more obvious, like they answer wrong.

00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:36.720
They

00:43:34.560 --> 00:43:39.040
don't seem to be hearing you.

00:43:36.720 --> 00:43:39.040
Um,

00:43:39.200 --> 00:43:45.040
possibly some reluctance to

00:43:42.720 --> 00:43:47.520
participate socially

00:43:45.040 --> 00:43:48.480
at, you know, in someone who maybe used to

00:43:47.520 --> 00:43:50.960
be

00:43:48.480 --> 00:43:52.560
all about going out socially, so if you

00:43:50.960 --> 00:43:55.280
see some,

00:43:52.560 --> 00:43:57.760
uh, reluctance to participate, I might

00:43:55.280 --> 00:43:58.030
want to know why.

00:43:57.760 --> 00:43:59.520
Um,

00:43:58.030 --> 00:44:01.520
[Music]

00:43:59.520 --> 00:44:04.480
but not, and there's a lot of obvious

00:44:01.520 --> 00:44:06.720
things, but not obvious, um, yeah, you think

00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:09.440
about that. I think the interesting point

00:44:06.720 --> 00:44:12.800
for for me is that these are often some

00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:14.800
of the same, uh, symptoms of of early

00:44:12.800 --> 00:44:15.839
dementia and of mild cognitive

00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.800
impairment.

00:44:15.839 --> 00:44:21.359
And, um, I think a good hearing evaluation

00:44:18.800 --> 00:44:23.200
is always

00:44:21.359 --> 00:44:25.359
a good idea when you're

00:44:23.200 --> 00:44:27.599
seeing a change in someone's social

00:44:25.359 --> 00:44:29.280
behavior. So someone who's no longer

00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:31.920
going to the card game they were going

00:44:29.280 --> 00:44:35.040
to, or no longer wanting to go to church

00:44:31.920 --> 00:44:37.520
when they were avid churchgoers, or

00:44:35.040 --> 00:44:39.280
someone who's really pulling out of, um,

00:44:37.520 --> 00:44:41.200
and it, you know, is that a lack of

00:44:39.280 --> 00:44:42.000
initiative and a lack of,

00:44:41.200 --> 00:44:44.160
um,

00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:46.640
wanting their, you know, their cognitive,

00:44:44.160 --> 00:44:48.560
um, differences highlighted, or is it that

00:44:46.640 --> 00:44:50.160
they can no longer hear, and I think it's,

00:44:48.560 --> 00:44:51.520
it's really important to sort those

00:44:50.160 --> 00:44:53.359
things out when you're seeing those

00:44:51.520 --> 00:44:55.200
types of changes.

00:44:53.359 --> 00:44:57.599
That's great.

00:44:55.200 --> 00:45:00.160
We have a question from Mary.

00:44:57.599 --> 00:45:02.720
My mom's hearing has deteriorated to the

00:45:00.160 --> 00:45:04.720
point where even with hearing aids she

00:45:02.720 --> 00:45:07.040
only gets muffled sounds.

00:45:04.720 --> 00:45:08.720
Would this device have a greater level

00:45:07.040 --> 00:45:10.880
of capability than what the hearing aids

00:45:08.720 --> 00:45:12.319
provide? For example, if she can't even

00:45:10.880 --> 00:45:16.920
hear through hearing aids, would this

00:45:12.319 --> 00:45:16.920
product help work any better for her?

00:45:21.520 --> 00:45:23.839
Yeah.

00:45:22.480 --> 00:45:25.920
Yeah, so I mean I,

00:45:23.839 --> 00:45:28.000
I would probably ask the audiologist on

00:45:25.920 --> 00:45:30.640
this. I definitely have seen scenarios

00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:31.920
where, you know, people who thought, you

00:45:30.640 --> 00:45:33.440
know, they found the hearing aids

00:45:31.920 --> 00:45:35.280
wouldn't help them that Eversound was,

00:45:33.440 --> 00:45:37.040
because again, it's they could turn it up,

00:45:35.280 --> 00:45:39.040
right? There, and it's amplifying what

00:45:37.040 --> 00:45:40.480
people should be listening to,

00:45:39.040 --> 00:45:42.319
so I have seen some scenarios that

00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:43.760
people thought that they, they couldn't

00:45:42.319 --> 00:45:45.839
hear, or they were struggling with

00:45:43.760 --> 00:45:47.280
hearing aids and have been successful

00:45:45.839 --> 00:45:50.079
with Eversound.

00:45:47.280 --> 00:45:53.599
Um, but I'd be curious of Dr. Rickard of

00:45:50.079 --> 00:45:54.960
your take of it. Yeah, um, so it's hard to

00:45:53.599 --> 00:45:56.640
comment on that, of course, without

00:45:54.960 --> 00:45:58.160
knowing the person's degree of hearing

00:45:56.640 --> 00:46:00.960
loss, and if the hearing aids are

00:45:58.160 --> 00:46:04.000
appropriately fit. But what I can say is

00:46:00.960 --> 00:46:06.720
that in a group setting like in a

00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:08.800
an exercise class or a group meeting or

00:46:06.720 --> 00:46:11.200
a church service, one of the biggest

00:46:08.800 --> 00:46:12.400
problems that people report with hearing

00:46:11.200 --> 00:46:14.720
aids is that they have a lot of

00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:16.319
difficulty in background noise, because

00:46:14.720 --> 00:46:18.960
you have to realize that the little

00:46:16.319 --> 00:46:21.599
microphones on hearing aids are designed

00:46:18.960 --> 00:46:22.800
for a conversational distance, six to

00:46:21.599 --> 00:46:24.720
eight feet.

00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:27.119
They're gonna pick up everything. They're

00:46:24.720 --> 00:46:29.040
gonna pick up the speech, and they're

00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:30.000
also going to pick up that background

00:46:29.040 --> 00:46:32.880
noise.

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:35.119
With a system that, such as Eversound, or

00:46:32.880 --> 00:46:36.960
I can, you know, other devices that we can

00:46:35.119 --> 00:46:39.359
get that work in combination with a

00:46:36.960 --> 00:46:41.520
hearing aid, you're delivering that

00:46:39.359 --> 00:46:44.160
signal from the sound source, whether

00:46:41.520 --> 00:46:44.960
it's somebody wearing a lavalier mic or

00:46:44.160 --> 00:46:47.119
a

00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:49.599
boom mic like Matt has on now. It's

00:46:47.119 --> 00:46:52.319
delivering it from their mouth into your

00:46:49.599 --> 00:46:55.280
ears, so it's overcoming the negative

00:46:52.319 --> 00:46:58.880
effects of distance and interfering

00:46:55.280 --> 00:47:00.880
background noise, so that can clear up a

00:46:58.880 --> 00:47:01.680
lot of,

00:47:00.880 --> 00:47:03.839
uh,

00:47:01.680 --> 00:47:05.839
just interfering background noise. All of

00:47:03.839 --> 00:47:08.319
us think of when you go into a very

00:47:05.839 --> 00:47:10.000
noisy restaurant, and you still struggle,

00:47:08.319 --> 00:47:11.359
even if you have normal hearing, and

00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.720
that's because you have all this

00:47:11.359 --> 00:47:16.640
competing noise, so these systems

00:47:14.720 --> 00:47:19.200
overcome the negative effects of

00:47:16.640 --> 00:47:20.960
background noise and distance, deliver

00:47:19.200 --> 00:47:24.000
the signal that you want right to the

00:47:20.960 --> 00:47:26.000
person's ear.

00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:28.240
Janet, you know, it's interesting. Again,

00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:30.079
here's another place where this is

00:47:28.240 --> 00:47:32.720
exactly what we hear from folks who are

00:47:30.079 --> 00:47:34.319
living with early stage dementia. Um, I've

00:47:32.720 --> 00:47:37.200
been involved in a planning committee

00:47:34.319 --> 00:47:38.880
for a conference, uh, welcoming, uh, you

00:47:37.200 --> 00:47:40.880
know, folks living with dementia and

00:47:38.880 --> 00:47:42.640
folks not living with dementia, and one

00:47:40.880 --> 00:47:44.960
of the accommodations we made at the

00:47:42.640 --> 00:47:46.559
conference was that each person living

00:47:44.960 --> 00:47:48.880
with dementia had a paddle that they

00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:51.440
could put up if if they needed this

00:47:48.880 --> 00:47:53.200
speaker to slow down or if there was too

00:47:51.440 --> 00:47:55.760
much background noise.

00:47:53.200 --> 00:47:58.319
Um, so, so people living with early

00:47:55.760 --> 00:48:00.079
dementia describe some of the very same

00:47:58.319 --> 00:48:02.160
things, making it very difficult to

00:48:00.079 --> 00:48:04.559
interpret what they're hearing,

00:48:02.160 --> 00:48:07.680
um, because of their brain, not because of

00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:09.440
their ears, right? So I mean it is really

00:48:07.680 --> 00:48:11.920
interesting to me, the intersection

00:48:09.440 --> 00:48:15.520
between some of these things, from a

00:48:11.920 --> 00:48:17.920
communication standpoint. Um, much of the

00:48:15.520 --> 00:48:20.000
same approach. So, so the original question I

00:48:17.920 --> 00:48:20.800
think was what do I do with this person

00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:23.599
who

00:48:20.800 --> 00:48:25.680
really just can no longer hear even with

00:48:23.599 --> 00:48:28.640
the hearing aids? Then we need to begin

00:48:25.680 --> 00:48:31.520
to rely on those approach things, you

00:48:28.640 --> 00:48:33.040
know, eye contact, facial, you know,

00:48:31.520 --> 00:48:34.720
expression.

00:48:33.040 --> 00:48:37.760
People with dementia, in general, are

00:48:34.720 --> 00:48:38.880
looking to the environment for cues as

00:48:37.760 --> 00:48:40.960
to how to,

00:48:38.880 --> 00:48:42.960
how to think about what's happening. How

00:48:40.960 --> 00:48:44.800
should I be responding?

00:48:42.960 --> 00:48:47.599
What, what,

00:48:44.800 --> 00:48:49.599
what can I pick up through my senses

00:48:47.599 --> 00:48:51.520
that will help me interpret what's going

00:48:49.599 --> 00:48:52.559
on around me? So they rely on those

00:48:51.520 --> 00:48:53.359
sensory,

00:48:52.559 --> 00:48:56.240
um,

00:48:53.359 --> 00:48:58.880
cues a whole lot more. And so, things like

00:48:56.240 --> 00:49:01.119
touch, you know, good soft, you know,

00:48:58.880 --> 00:49:03.359
reassuring touch, um,

00:49:01.119 --> 00:49:06.880
certainly the look on our face and how

00:49:03.359 --> 00:49:10.079
we are presenting, uh, to them can be, can

00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:12.880
be really, really, uh, a critical thing to

00:49:10.079 --> 00:49:14.480
step those up as the hearing goes.

00:49:12.880 --> 00:49:16.960
Absolutely,

00:49:14.480 --> 00:49:18.400
um, oh! Lisa, quick question for you coming

00:49:16.960 --> 00:49:21.040
in from Facebook.

00:49:18.400 --> 00:49:23.040
This person says my mom had tinnitus for

00:49:21.040 --> 00:49:24.480
many years, and then it went away.

00:49:23.040 --> 00:49:25.599
Is this common?

00:49:24.480 --> 00:49:26.720
No,

00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:29.680
it's not.

00:49:26.720 --> 00:49:32.559
It's lucky. It's lucky for sure.

00:49:29.680 --> 00:49:34.559
Yes, it's not common for it to go away, so

00:49:32.559 --> 00:49:37.200
I'm happy for her.

00:49:34.559 --> 00:49:38.480
Tinnitus can be so problematic for so

00:49:37.200 --> 00:49:41.440
many people,

00:49:38.480 --> 00:49:43.440
and we don't exactly know what causes it

00:49:41.440 --> 00:49:44.640
or where in the auditory pathway it's

00:49:43.440 --> 00:49:46.960
occurring.

00:49:44.640 --> 00:49:50.720
But if she had it for years, and it went

00:49:46.960 --> 00:49:52.400
away, that is a very good thing. Um,

00:49:50.720 --> 00:49:54.240
important to note, like, it doesn't

00:49:52.400 --> 00:49:56.559
necessarily mean that it went away,

00:49:54.240 --> 00:49:57.599
because her hearing declined, so now she

00:49:56.559 --> 00:49:59.920
can't,

00:49:57.599 --> 00:50:01.440
because even deaf people have tinnitus.

00:49:59.920 --> 00:50:03.920
Believe it or not,

00:50:01.440 --> 00:50:06.160
deaf can have tinnitus, so that's what I

00:50:03.920 --> 00:50:08.240
mean when I say we don't exactly know

00:50:06.160 --> 00:50:09.200
where in the auditory nerve pathways it

00:50:08.240 --> 00:50:11.280
occurs.

00:50:09.200 --> 00:50:13.040
Yes, so it can.

00:50:11.280 --> 00:50:14.640
People with perfectly normal hearing can

00:50:13.040 --> 00:50:17.040
have tinnitus.

00:50:14.640 --> 00:50:18.800
Deaf people can have tinnitus, so I'm

00:50:17.040 --> 00:50:20.880
glad that it went away.

00:50:18.800 --> 00:50:22.800
That is not.

00:50:20.880 --> 00:50:25.200
And there's a question coming in, Matt,

00:50:22.800 --> 00:50:27.839
for you. If Eversound works for those

00:50:25.200 --> 00:50:27.839
with tinnitus,

00:50:28.240 --> 00:50:31.119
I think

00:50:29.119 --> 00:50:33.359
that's,

00:50:31.119 --> 00:50:35.760
I've yet to hear of a scenario, you know,

00:50:33.359 --> 00:50:37.839
I can't speak

00:50:35.760 --> 00:50:40.240
in fact statements. I haven't heard of

00:50:37.839 --> 00:50:42.400
someone with tinnitus or tinnitus using

00:50:40.240 --> 00:50:44.160
Eversound and using it. Again, I would I

00:50:42.400 --> 00:50:46.319
would defer to the audiologist on the

00:50:44.160 --> 00:50:50.480
call. And Dr. Rickard, uh, what you think

00:50:46.319 --> 00:50:54.319
about that? Yeah, any time that we can, um,

00:50:50.480 --> 00:50:57.280
use some external stimulus to help to, to

00:50:54.319 --> 00:51:00.800
mask over a person's internal

00:50:57.280 --> 00:51:03.040
noise. That is often a good thing, so some

00:51:00.800 --> 00:51:05.440
people who have tinnitus report that

00:51:03.040 --> 00:51:07.280
just wearing hearing aids, because

00:51:05.440 --> 00:51:09.920
they're picking up more extraneous

00:51:07.280 --> 00:51:13.040
external sounds. It just helps to mask

00:51:09.920 --> 00:51:15.680
over their tinnitus, so I, I wouldn't use

00:51:13.040 --> 00:51:17.839
it as, you know, a

00:51:15.680 --> 00:51:20.720
treatment for tinnitus. There are other

00:51:17.839 --> 00:51:23.119
treatments for tinnitus, but I can see

00:51:20.720 --> 00:51:25.760
where wearing something like this or

00:51:23.119 --> 00:51:28.880
wearing a hearing aid, definitely people

00:51:25.760 --> 00:51:31.200
report that it, um, alleviates by masking

00:51:28.880 --> 00:51:33.280
over their tinnitus.

00:51:31.200 --> 00:51:36.000
Got it. We have another question for you,

00:51:33.280 --> 00:51:38.240
Juliet, coming in from Facebook.

00:51:36.000 --> 00:51:40.800
My dad has moderate Alzheimer's. Do you

00:51:38.240 --> 00:51:43.599
have any suggestions for cleaning out

00:51:40.800 --> 00:51:45.280
his earwax with compassion while helping

00:51:43.599 --> 00:51:47.440
him keep his independence. I'm looking

00:51:45.280 --> 00:51:49.200
for a way to more easily navigate this

00:51:47.440 --> 00:51:51.760
with him.

00:51:49.200 --> 00:51:55.359
I think, um, and sorry, the doorbell just

00:51:51.760 --> 00:51:57.440
rang despite my, uh, despite my signage. Um,

00:51:55.359 --> 00:51:59.520
so the dogs are barking. Um,

00:51:57.440 --> 00:52:03.200
I think the important thing would be to

00:51:59.520 --> 00:52:05.520
seek out an audiologist who, um,

00:52:03.200 --> 00:52:08.400
has expertise in treating folks with

00:52:05.520 --> 00:52:10.960
dementia. I do think it's worth pursuing

00:52:08.400 --> 00:52:12.800
to get the earwax, um, cleaned out, and, you

00:52:10.960 --> 00:52:14.240
know, we haven't touched on that, and Lisa

00:52:12.800 --> 00:52:16.240
I'm sure knows way more about that than

00:52:14.240 --> 00:52:18.880
I do. All I know is,

00:52:16.240 --> 00:52:22.000
um, that sometimes when we've had

00:52:18.880 --> 00:52:24.960
behavioral issues with folks, it has been

00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:26.240
because of the earwax, um, buildup. And

00:52:24.960 --> 00:52:29.599
once you get

00:52:26.240 --> 00:52:31.839
the, um, earwax removed, the behaviors go

00:52:29.599 --> 00:52:33.839
away. So I do know that it's something

00:52:31.839 --> 00:52:36.640
that's worth pursuing.

00:52:33.839 --> 00:52:39.520
That said, if it's, you know, the reaction

00:52:36.640 --> 00:52:41.280
to having the ears cleaned is, you know,

00:52:39.520 --> 00:52:43.200
what we would call a catastrophic

00:52:41.280 --> 00:52:44.480
reaction, you know, it's just really,

00:52:43.200 --> 00:52:47.599
really, really,

00:52:44.480 --> 00:52:50.000
um, distressful for that person, then, you

00:52:47.599 --> 00:52:52.400
know, maybe little bits at a time. Um, but

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.000
I would consult with an audiologist who

00:52:52.400 --> 00:52:55.680
absolutely

00:52:54.000 --> 00:52:57.200
is comfortable treating people with

00:52:55.680 --> 00:52:58.960
dementia.

00:52:57.200 --> 00:53:01.599
Lisa probably has more to add to that.

00:52:58.960 --> 00:53:03.280
Maybe. Yeah, I mean cerumen removal is

00:53:01.599 --> 00:53:06.079
within the scope of practice of

00:53:03.280 --> 00:53:07.920
audiology. I personally don't do it, but

00:53:06.079 --> 00:53:08.960
you have to be very careful in the ear

00:53:07.920 --> 00:53:11.920
canal,

00:53:08.960 --> 00:53:14.079
so depending on whether this is, you know,

00:53:11.920 --> 00:53:16.800
soft, and it's going to easily come out

00:53:14.079 --> 00:53:18.880
or whether it's hard and attached to the

00:53:16.800 --> 00:53:21.040
ear canal wall.

00:53:18.880 --> 00:53:24.400
And you can tell by looking at it,

00:53:21.040 --> 00:53:27.359
but if you can get the wax out at least

00:53:24.400 --> 00:53:28.640
once, maybe by an ear nose and throat

00:53:27.359 --> 00:53:30.559
doctor.

00:53:28.640 --> 00:53:32.480
And then approach it more from a

00:53:30.559 --> 00:53:34.319
prophylactic standpoint where you use

00:53:32.480 --> 00:53:36.559
something like the over-the-counter

00:53:34.319 --> 00:53:38.319
debrox, which is just drops you know, maybe,

00:53:36.559 --> 00:53:40.960
you use that once a week, and then you

00:53:38.319 --> 00:53:42.640
can prevent it from recurring.

00:53:40.960 --> 00:53:44.240
That might be one

00:53:42.640 --> 00:53:46.400
attack, or

00:53:44.240 --> 00:53:47.920
you could just try

00:53:46.400 --> 00:53:49.520
the, you know, if you say, oh, there's no

00:53:47.920 --> 00:53:52.240
way I'm going to get him to the doctor.

00:53:49.520 --> 00:53:54.559
Just try the over-the-counter debrox

00:53:52.240 --> 00:53:55.520
drops, because often that softens it up

00:53:54.559 --> 00:53:57.760
enough.

00:53:55.520 --> 00:54:00.240
Ears pretty much clean themselves. They

00:53:57.760 --> 00:54:02.559
exfoliate from the inside out, so if you

00:54:00.240 --> 00:54:05.599
can soften the wax, it may just kind of

00:54:02.559 --> 00:54:08.640
come out on its own with the bath or the

00:54:05.599 --> 00:54:08.640
shower or whatever.

00:54:09.280 --> 00:54:13.760
I think important, too, to understand, you

00:54:11.440 --> 00:54:15.440
know, and to continue the person's

00:54:13.760 --> 00:54:18.559
historical,

00:54:15.440 --> 00:54:21.119
um, you know, uh,

00:54:18.559 --> 00:54:22.079
routines around this, right? Everybody has

00:54:21.119 --> 00:54:24.720
their own.

00:54:22.079 --> 00:54:26.960
Um, you know, I don't put anything, I have,

00:54:24.720 --> 00:54:29.440
uh, benign, um,

00:54:26.960 --> 00:54:31.359
vertigo, and so I'm very, you know, I don't

00:54:29.440 --> 00:54:32.559
put any drops or anything in my ears,

00:54:31.359 --> 00:54:34.319
because I don't want those little

00:54:32.559 --> 00:54:35.920
crystals going out of whack, and then I

00:54:34.319 --> 00:54:37.520
can't sit up. So,

00:54:35.920 --> 00:54:39.599
you know, I think everybody sort of has

00:54:37.520 --> 00:54:40.720
their own sensitivities around these

00:54:39.599 --> 00:54:42.720
things and,

00:54:40.720 --> 00:54:44.640
and important to understand is we're

00:54:42.720 --> 00:54:47.119
taking care of people with dementia that

00:54:44.640 --> 00:54:50.400
that we continue those normal routines

00:54:47.119 --> 00:54:52.880
and habits, uh, to, to clean the ears.

00:54:50.400 --> 00:54:54.319
No Q-tips!

00:54:52.880 --> 00:54:56.240
I know, right? Nothing in your ear is

00:54:54.319 --> 00:54:58.240
smaller than an elbow; that's what I was

00:54:56.240 --> 00:55:00.799
like.

00:54:58.240 --> 00:55:03.520
Do you have any tips, Lisa, for

00:55:00.799 --> 00:55:06.520
convincing people to wear their hearing

00:55:03.520 --> 00:55:06.520
aid?

00:55:07.200 --> 00:55:12.480
Oh, if I did!

00:55:09.280 --> 00:55:13.280
So, um, I you need to try to, maybe, get out

00:55:12.480 --> 00:55:15.680
there.

00:55:13.280 --> 00:55:18.160
You need to get out what's behind it, you

00:55:15.680 --> 00:55:21.040
know, is it this negative stigma

00:55:18.160 --> 00:55:23.119
sometimes, um, you know, addressing that.

00:55:21.040 --> 00:55:24.960
Trying to get at sometimes. We use

00:55:23.119 --> 00:55:27.839
something called like a decisional

00:55:24.960 --> 00:55:31.200
balance, like, what really are the, the

00:55:27.839 --> 00:55:33.119
pros and cons? What are the pros of not

00:55:31.200 --> 00:55:35.040
hearing to you?

00:55:33.119 --> 00:55:37.040
Well, I don't have to go to church. My

00:55:35.040 --> 00:55:39.599
wife won't make me go to church. What are

00:55:37.040 --> 00:55:41.680
the cons of hearing? Well, she'll make me

00:55:39.599 --> 00:55:44.000
go to church, so you have to look deeper

00:55:41.680 --> 00:55:45.319
at some of those things um the other big

00:55:44.000 --> 00:55:47.760
thing is

00:55:45.319 --> 00:55:49.839
self-efficacy. A lot of times people

00:55:47.760 --> 00:55:52.240
bluster about not wanting to wear their

00:55:49.839 --> 00:55:53.040
hearing aids, but they really have very

00:55:52.240 --> 00:55:56.000
low

00:55:53.040 --> 00:55:57.920
self-efficacy in their ability to

00:55:56.000 --> 00:56:00.480
manage these, and they're actually quite

00:55:57.920 --> 00:56:02.960
simple to manage. And that's my job to

00:56:00.480 --> 00:56:04.240
make you comfortable managing them.

00:56:02.960 --> 00:56:06.240
Um,

00:56:04.240 --> 00:56:08.400
so self-efficacy,

00:56:06.240 --> 00:56:10.160
this decision of balance sometimes.

00:56:08.400 --> 00:56:12.000
People, it's,

00:56:10.160 --> 00:56:13.599
they perceive it in their best interest

00:56:12.000 --> 00:56:15.119
not to hear well.

00:56:13.599 --> 00:56:17.599
Um,

00:56:15.119 --> 00:56:19.680
and I was going to get out one more

00:56:17.599 --> 00:56:21.680
thing, and, of course, it slipped my mind.

00:56:19.680 --> 00:56:25.040
I'll think of it in a minute, but

00:56:21.680 --> 00:56:27.359
getting at the crux of it, um,

00:56:25.040 --> 00:56:29.839
lots of times people have heard well. I

00:56:27.359 --> 00:56:32.240
heard this, and I heard that, so again,

00:56:29.839 --> 00:56:33.280
part of my job is you know educating

00:56:32.240 --> 00:56:34.640
people,

00:56:33.280 --> 00:56:36.720
um,

00:56:34.640 --> 00:56:39.119
educating them a little bit when I start

00:56:36.720 --> 00:56:40.720
to bring up the cognitive decline issue,

00:56:39.119 --> 00:56:42.400
I don't want to scare people into

00:56:40.720 --> 00:56:44.880
wearing their hearing aids, but I can

00:56:42.400 --> 00:56:46.799
show them, you know, the research behind

00:56:44.880 --> 00:56:49.200
this. Sometimes that really speaks to

00:56:46.799 --> 00:56:50.960
people, you know, when they understand

00:56:49.200 --> 00:56:53.200
some of these negative effects that I've

00:56:50.960 --> 00:56:55.599
been talking about today,

00:56:53.200 --> 00:56:57.760
that, um. they're saying, whoa! You know,

00:56:55.599 --> 00:56:59.760
cognitive decline falls? I couldn't even,

00:56:57.760 --> 00:57:02.160
I could be more if i don't wear my

00:56:59.760 --> 00:57:04.960
hearing aids. Um,

00:57:02.160 --> 00:57:06.400
so I look for the deeper, the deeper

00:57:04.960 --> 00:57:08.480
reason.

00:57:06.400 --> 00:57:10.400
Yeah, I think also to communicate to

00:57:08.480 --> 00:57:13.200
people that it's still important that

00:57:10.400 --> 00:57:15.359
they're involved, and that checking out

00:57:13.200 --> 00:57:18.000
is not an option. We're comfortable with,

00:57:15.359 --> 00:57:20.720
um, as family members or as members of

00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:23.599
the community, um, that we still want that

00:57:20.720 --> 00:57:26.119
person's voice and ears

00:57:23.599 --> 00:57:29.200
and hearing and participation in

00:57:26.119 --> 00:57:30.400
conversations. I think, um, letting folks

00:57:29.200 --> 00:57:32.559
know that,

00:57:30.400 --> 00:57:34.240
uh, as they age it's a really important

00:57:32.559 --> 00:57:36.240
thing.

00:57:34.240 --> 00:57:38.559
Yeah, that's so true.

00:57:36.240 --> 00:57:40.880
Juliet, there's a question coming in. Will

00:57:38.559 --> 00:57:43.200
Brookdale offer this to its residents or

00:57:40.880 --> 00:57:45.119
families have to purchase a device?

00:57:43.200 --> 00:57:46.400
I imagine it can be offered for use at

00:57:45.119 --> 00:57:48.400
activities.

00:57:46.400 --> 00:57:50.640
From an equity standpoint, um, it's a

00:57:48.400 --> 00:57:52.880
great selling feature for the residents,

00:57:50.640 --> 00:57:55.440
but is it bought or is it available for

00:57:52.880 --> 00:57:57.680
use? Well, I think, you know, we're adding

00:57:55.440 --> 00:58:00.480
it to our communities, um, on kind of a

00:57:57.680 --> 00:58:03.280
state rollout basis. We, um,

00:58:00.480 --> 00:58:05.520
are, um, I have it in select communities

00:58:03.280 --> 00:58:08.480
now. I think when it's in a community,

00:58:05.520 --> 00:58:10.400
residents are, are certainly, you know,

00:58:08.480 --> 00:58:12.240
able to use it anytime they want in

00:58:10.400 --> 00:58:15.680
terms of, you know, if you have a family

00:58:12.240 --> 00:58:17.359
visitor, you're doing a family dinner, um,

00:58:15.680 --> 00:58:20.000
at the community. That type of thing.

00:58:17.359 --> 00:58:20.640
We're welcome to, to have everybody use

00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:22.880
it.

00:58:20.640 --> 00:58:25.280
Um, you know, there certainly are other

00:58:22.880 --> 00:58:28.000
personal amplification devices. We did

00:58:25.280 --> 00:58:31.839
look into some of these as the COVID,

00:58:28.000 --> 00:58:32.960
um, visiting, uh, issues came up, and, um, you

00:58:31.839 --> 00:58:35.839
know, there are some of those

00:58:32.960 --> 00:58:40.400
amplification devices that are available

00:58:35.839 --> 00:58:42.079
um for more one-to-one communication,

00:58:40.400 --> 00:58:44.720
and we have you know we've added some

00:58:42.079 --> 00:58:48.400
things like old-fashioned, um

00:58:44.720 --> 00:58:50.240
telephone, um, handheld

00:58:48.400 --> 00:58:52.480
receivers, I guess they were called back

00:58:50.240 --> 00:58:54.559
in the day, right? Um, then we've added

00:58:52.480 --> 00:58:57.280
some of those to the iPads, which seems

00:58:54.559 --> 00:58:59.599
to help, um, some folks as well with

00:58:57.280 --> 00:59:01.040
visiting and understanding that they're,

00:58:59.599 --> 00:59:04.240
that they're actually taught, you know,

00:59:01.040 --> 00:59:05.839
talking on a phone. Um, so you know, I

00:59:04.240 --> 00:59:07.599
would suggest that if folks are having

00:59:05.839 --> 00:59:09.200
an issue with their their loved ones, are

00:59:07.599 --> 00:59:10.960
living in a Brookdale community, to

00:59:09.200 --> 00:59:12.880
certainly speak with the health and

00:59:10.960 --> 00:59:15.680
wellness director or the executive

00:59:12.880 --> 00:59:18.400
director or the programming person, um,

00:59:15.680 --> 00:59:21.440
about those needs, so that we can, um, we

00:59:18.400 --> 00:59:21.440
can get them addressed.

00:59:21.920 --> 00:59:26.400
Great. Thank you for that. So we are

00:59:24.000 --> 00:59:29.040
coming up on the hour. It went fast! Thank

00:59:26.400 --> 00:59:30.160
you so much, Lisa, Matt, Juliet. I sincerely

00:59:29.040 --> 00:59:32.000
want to thank you all for joining us

00:59:30.160 --> 00:59:34.079
today, and thanks to all of you for being

00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:35.119
here and asking all of your questions.

00:59:34.079 --> 00:59:36.799
We're going to be emailing you a

00:59:35.119 --> 00:59:38.000
recording and a transcript of this

00:59:36.799 --> 00:59:40.720
webinar, so you'll be able to review it

00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:42.319
again or share with family and friends.

00:59:40.720 --> 00:59:45.359
And please come back and join us in

00:59:42.319 --> 00:59:46.480
January for our next webinar, "Medication

00:59:45.359 --> 00:59:48.799
Management."

00:59:46.480 --> 00:59:50.880
That will be in January, and each of our

00:59:48.799 --> 00:59:52.880
webinars features a different subject,

00:59:50.880 --> 00:59:55.119
and you can go to brookdale.com/intheknow

00:59:52.880 --> 00:59:57.200
to discover more

00:59:55.119 --> 00:59:59.280
and see some of our past webinars. And we

00:59:57.200 --> 01:00:02.000
do hope we'll see you again soon. And so

00:59:59.280 --> 01:00:04.480
until next year, we hope you stay safe,

01:00:02.000 --> 01:00:07.720
happy and well. Thank you so much!

01:00:04.480 --> 01:00:07.720
Thank you.