In the past they were called “books-on-tape”. Of course, that was long before CDs, much less digital streaming. These days, they have a much better name; audiobooks.
With an audiobook, you will listen to the book as it’s being read by a narrator. It’s a bit like when you were a kid and a parent or teacher read to you. You can connect with new ideas, get swept away in a story, or discover something new. Audiobooks are a wonderful way to pass time and enrich your mind.
As it turns out, they’re also a great way to accomplish some auditory training.
So you’re probably pretty curious about exactly what auditory training is. It sounds tedious like homework.
Auditory training is a specialized form of listening, developed to help you increase your ability to process, perceive, and decipher sounds (medically known as “auditory information”). One of the principal uses of auditory training is to help individuals learn to hear with their new hearing aids.
Because neglected hearing loss can cause your hearing to become used to a quieter environment and your brain can get out of practice. So when you get a new pair of hearing aids, your brain suddenly has to cope with an influx of extra information. When this happens, your brain will find it difficult, at first, to process all those new sounds as well as it should. Auditory training can be a useful tool to help deal with this. (As a side note, auditory training is also worthwhile for those who have language learning challenges or auditory processing disorders).
Think of it like this: Audio books won’t necessarily make you hear clearer, but they will help you better understand what you’re hearing.
Helping your brain distinguish sound again is precisely what auditory training is designed to do. If you think about it, people have a very complicated relationship with noise. Every single sound you hear has some meaning. Your brain needs to do a lot of work. The concept is that audiobooks are an ideal way to help your brain get used to that process again, particularly if you’re breaking in a new pair of hearing aids.
Audiobooks can help with your auditory training in various different ways, including the following:
WE recommend that, as you listen to your audiobook, you also read along with a physical copy of the book too. Your brain will adjust faster to new audio signals making those linguistic connections stronger. It’s definitely a good way to enhance your auditory training adventure. That’s because audiobooks enhance hearing aids.
It’s also very easy to get thousands of audiobooks. There’s an app called Audible which you can get a subscription to. Many online vendors sell them, including Amazon. Anywhere you find yourself, you can cue one up on your phone.
And you can also get podcasts on nearly every topic in case you can’t find an audiobook you want to listen to. You can improve your hearing and improve your mind simultaneously!
Lots of contemporary hearing aids are Bluetooth enabled. So all of your Bluetooth-equipped devices, including your phone, your television, and your speakers, can be connected with your hearing aids. This means you don’t need to put huge headphones over your hearing aids just to listen to an audiobook. You can use your hearing aids for this instead.
This leads to an easier process and a higher quality sound.
So if you believe your hearing may be starting to go, or you’re worried about getting accustomed to your hearing aids, talk to us about audiobooks.
1455 W. Court St.
Kankakee, IL 60901
815 939 2024
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Tue & Thu: 8:30am-5pm (Doctor sees patients)
Fri: 9am-1pm (Staff only)
Fri: 2pm-5pm (Doctor sees patients)
Closed for lunch 12pm-1pm
29 West 34th St.
Steger, IL 60475
708 756 1767
Mon & Wed: 8:30am-5pm (Doctor sees patients)
Tue & Thu: 9am-4:30pm (Staff only)
Fri: 8:30am-12pm (Doctor sees patients)
Fri: 1pm-4:30pm (Staff only)
Closed for lunch 12pm-1pm