Do you ever listen to audiobooks? This form of storytelling can be also very beneficial for hearing rehab.
Oral storytelling is one of the most ancient art-forms. Stories have been passed on by word of mouth to entertain, educate and inform from generation to generation, long before recorded history.
Although these oral traditions have changed, the desire to TELL and HEAR stories remained constant. This is why hearing loss can have such a significant impact on everyday life.
The sudden change in hearing ability after receiving new hearing aids or cochlear implants impacts most aspects of your life, but listening exercises can vastly improve one’s auditory skills.
Those who are unable to participate in conversations can experience feelings of loneliness, isolation, and frustration. Thankfully, there are ways to rehabilitate from the loss of hearing, through technology and auditory training.
Home Based Rehab Using Audiobooks
Audiobook exercises can be conducted at home or as part of an Auditory Rehab program. A Rehab Specialist, such as a rehab audiologist, an auditory verbal therapist or speech pathologist, can guide and coach you on the strategy, as well as recommend sessions where family or significant others can join in and learn effective communication techniques. Therapy-based services can help you successfully put the pieces of the communication puzzle together.
Today, a new era of oral storytelling or audio books is booming with mobile technologies such as smartphones, tablets, and multimedia entertainment systems in cars and podcasts over the internet.
Audiobooks, especially, are easily accessible and an enjoyable way to practice listening that can be completed independently at your own pace. They are particularly useful for patients who might have difficulty finding a suitable conversational partner. Auditory training at home with audio books and the corresponding texts is an enjoyable rehabilitation option that spans the scope of a beginner to experienced cochlear implant user.
How To Begin With Audiobooks?
Your first book should be a book you are already familiar with and have even read a few times. This serves as a way to get the “feel” of the audiobook experience which focuses on listening not vision. You’ll find that it’s quite different from reading paper books, so ease yourself into this and don’t rush. Non-fiction books are a good beginning as the storyline is familiar and predictable.
Select audiobooks that have a clear narrator, a relatively slow pace and without accents foreign to you. Consider books with few characters to follow. Sound effects and background music should be limited as not to obscure the spoken words of the book.
Select audiobooks that have a clear narrator, a relatively slow pace and without accents foreign to you.
It is important to listen in a quiet room or connect your sound source directly to your cochlear implant processors or hearing aids with a Telecoil, Bluetooth or a direct audio input cable.
Levels Based On Your Auditory Skills
There are three listening levels based on your auditory experience and skills.
READ ON AT: How to use audiobooks for hearing rehab
