Choosing to live in a senior living community is about welcoming a lifestyle of socialization, movement, safety resident health and wellness. Although the transition is not always easy, being able to engage and participate in activity programming certainly makes it a more enjoyable experience. That becomes difficult, however, as many aging seniors have to contend with impaired hearing. Whether treated or undiagnosed, hearing loss prevents seniors from getting the most out of their interactions and hinders them from building meaningful connections with others.
Even the mildest cases of untreated hearing loss can have undesirable effects on a resident’s social, physical, psychological, cognitive, and overall health including irritability, fatigue, depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, isolation, impaired memory, reduced alertness, and higher incidences of dementia.
Related: Addressing the link between hearing loss and weakened health
Creating activities in environments that are personalized to enhance the residents’ listening experience in every setting is key to boosting overall resident health and wellness. Removing communication barriers improves the experience and allows all members of the community to create a healthy environment. When you have clearer communication, it strengthens the connections between staff, residents and caregivers, and delivers a more holistic approach to care.
We’ve outlined how an engagement platform for senior residents, like Eversound’s easy to use wireless headphone system, is a major benefit for sales and marketing directors, as well as clinical teams. Now it’s time to show how the Eversound system is a health and wellness amenity that boosts engagement for residents and prospects looking for greater mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
While Eversound can be used with any program offering, here are 5 use cases where communities can use the headphone system to create active participants for better health and wellness:
1. PT and OT Sessions
The Eversound system serves as part of a comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation strategy to help residents understand their long-term goals for recovery in physical therapy and occupational therapy. With Eversound, residents have clearer communication and better, more engaging conversations with the therapist. In turn, residents feel more confident because they understand treatment plans better and can fully participate in physical movements, such as stretching, but also cognitive aspects like coping with memory loss. Using Eversound during these sessions allows residents to be fully engaged so clinical staff doesn’t have to repeat themselves, making the appointments more impactful and efficient.
2. Meditation sessions
Use Eversound to take meditation experiences to the next level. If the community has the space, they can set up a whole room dedicated to a sensory experience. In this room, provide things that stimulate each sense. Perhaps set up the room with non-toxic essential oils, low lighting, and something meaningful for residents to hold or feel. Make sure to play peaceful, calming music, such as the ARKAI sonic meditation, that you can find in our members portal.
3. Devotional and religious practices
Many seniors continue to incorporate their spiritual practice through daily and/or weekly religious services as the most common type of voluntary social activity. It can bring back happy memories of their service to the church throughout their life, as well as offer benefits to their overall mental health through continued spiritual practice. Many times, in the case of social distancing, holding a mass or other religious service is not a feasible option. Bringing bible study to residents’ rooms or small group settings is appreciated by residents. Adding the Eversound headphone system can help them to hear and fully immerse themselves in scripture, song, discussion and sermons.
- The God Cares Ministry website provides free, printable PDFs made specifically for senior communities.
- This resource offers assistance on how to lead bible study with seniors with dementia.
4. Exercise or yoga classes
Exercise programs are designed to be fun and keep residents healthy. More physical movement in a guided environment helps residents with chronic conditions improve their stamina and muscle strength, reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, and boosts mood and feelings of well-being.
Ensure residents remove background noise and never miss a word by using Eversound at exercise programs! Lift their spirits and get them moving. Using Eversound for exercise is especially great for residents in memory care and is a great resource for dementia care programming because it blocks out external sounds and removes distractions while gently guiding their attention to the exercise.
Set up your residents with one of the fantastic exercise videos you can find on the Eversound members portal, where you’ll find specially designed programs to fit your residents’ fitness needs.
5. Gardening programs
Give residents the space to enjoy their favorite hobbies, like gardening! This is a great one to do outdoors where residents can listen to music, instructions, and work together from a distance. (The Eversound transmitter and headphones can be up to 250 feet apart!)
When warm sunshine and fresh air are not in your favor, try alternative offerings, such as Eldergrow™, providing residents with a therapeutic connection to nature through innovative gardening products and services. Eldergrow’s programs bring nature inside 12 months a year, improving the lives of older adults living in residential and nursing care. The programs help to stimulate all five senses and bring back cherished memories of yesteryear. Using the Eversound headphones helps to enhance those senses and offers a more therapeutic experience overall.
Let Eversound help your community thrive in meaningful ways
Watch your residents engage physically, socially, cognitively, and spiritually in all their activity programming and see how much their overall wellness improves. The Eversound system’s extensive library of programming and wireless headphone system spark quality connections for residents by providing access to new experiences to connect, learn and discover from the comfort of their communities.
Activity Directors can provide exceptional care while simplifying their program planning. The Eversound solution is proven to improve resident well-being with data-backed results showing significant improvements in engagement. Having better access to things that boost resident health and wellness, like implementing effective engagement and communication technologies, can help achieve that goal.
Get in touch today to see how Eversound can add real meaning to your community’s health and wellness offerings!