Many of us take what we hear for granted, whether it be the sound of birds chirping in the morning, the church bells ringing on a Sunday, or our favorite song being sung. However, people who are hard of hearing can find it more difficult to participate in many of the daily activities that others do without thinking about it. One of our partners, Eversound, is helping CMSS provide technology that makes our programs more inclusive for residents with hearing loss so that they can fully participate in our communities.
What is Eversound?
Eversound provides senior communities with the audio technology they need to create more inclusive, connected, and enjoyable environments. Thanks to their easy-to-use wireless transmitters and headphones, residents, their loved ones, and staff can engage with an enhanced audio experience. The system can improve quality of life in small group programming, conversations with care staff, and prospective resident tours.
It started between two childhood friends Matt Reiners and Jake Reisch. Six years ago Matt, Jake, and another co-founder created Eversound to improve the quality of life for older adults hard of hearing.
“I saw my grandmother being unable to engage with the world around her as her hearing declined,” Reiners said. “She didn’t want to wear hearing aids so she blasted her TV and isolated herself.”
Reiners’ co-founders said their grandparents experienced similar issues. The three felt they could come up with a solution to fix it.
They walked across New York and spoke in 100 senior communities to understand what problems older adults were facing. They created a technology that has since supported over 1,000 senior living communities and impacted over 10,000 seniors. CMSS is lucky to be one of them.
How Eversound Helps Senior Communities In a Pandemic
Eversound and CMSS partnered in the fall of 2018. Little did we know how important they would become to our communities when the pandemic hit. As we were forced to become stricter about visitations, activities, and guidelines, Eversound became a way for us to creatively keep everyone connected.
“The visitor’s set came super handy when the Covid guidelines required we separate the residents from visitors with some kind of barrier of at least 6 feet,” Ana Lebron, community life coordinator at Harwell Place said. “When we got it, we used it for our indoor visits that were conducted through a plexiglass divider.”
Hartwell Place also used the sets to help residents hear programming better. When they started a virtual pen pal program with local high schools, Eversound’s technology helped the residents hear students clearly during a Zoom call. Additionally, during a music programming session, all of the residents, even those in their rooms, were able to listen to and enjoy the program.
It’s fascinating how far technology has come over the years. Hearing accessibility is such an important issue for not just older adults, but also the hard of hearing, and companies like Eversound are at the forefront of innovative solutions. Learn more about them by visiting their website.
