Back in the old days they were called “books-on-tape”. Back then, obviously, we didn’t even have CDs let alone streaming services. Today, they have a much better name; audiobooks.
With an audiobook, you will listen to the book being read by a narrator. It’s a lot like having somebody read a book out loud to you (okay, it’s exactly that). You can engage with new concepts, get swept up in a story, or discover something new. Listening to audiobooks while passing time will be a mentally enriching experience.
And they’re also an ideal tool for audio training.
What’s auditory training?
So you’re probably rather interested about exactly what auditory training is. It sounds complex and a lot like school.
As a skilled kind of listening, auditory training is created to give you a better ability to perceive, process, and comprehend sounds (medically known as “auditory information”). One of the principal uses of auditory training is to help people learn to hear with their new hearing aids.
Because untreated hearing loss can cause your hearing to become used to a quieter environment and your brain can grow out of practice. So when you get a new pair of hearing aids, your brain abruptly has to deal with an influx of additional information. When this occurs, your brain will find it hard, at first, to process all those new sounds as well as it should. As a result, auditory training often becomes a helpful exercise. Also, for people who are coping with auditory processing disorders or have language learning challenges, auditory training can be a helpful tool.
Another perspective: Audio books won’t really make you hear clearer, but they will help you better distinguish what you’re hearing.
When you listen to audiobooks, what happens?
Auditory training was designed to help your brain get used to distinguishing sounds again. Humans have a pretty complex relationship with noise if you really think about it. Every single sound signifies something. Your brain needs to do a lot of work. The concept is that audiobooks are an excellent way to help your brain get used to that process again, especially if you’re breaking in a brand-new pair of hearing aids.
Audiobooks can assist with your auditory training in various different ways, including the following:
- A bigger vocabulary: Most individuals would love to expand their vocabulary. The more words you’re subjected to, the bigger your vocabulary will become. Impress your friends by throwing out amazingly apt words. Perhaps that guy standing outside the bar looks innocuous, or your meal at that restaurant is sumptuous. Either way, audiobooks can help you pick the right word for the right situation.
- Improvements of focus: With a little help from your audiobook, you’ll stay focused and involved for longer periods of time. After all, if you’re getting accustomed to a new set of hearing aids, it may have been a while since you last engaged in and listened to an entire conversation. You may need some practice tuning in and remaining focused, and audiobooks can help you with that.
- Improvements in pronunciation: You’ll often need practice with more than just the hearing part. Hearing loss can often bring on social solitude which can cause communication skills to atrophy. Audiobooks can make communication a great deal easier by helping you get a grip on pronunciation.
- Perception of speech: When you listen to an audiobook, you gain real-time practice understanding somebody else’s speech. But you also have a little bit more control than you would during a normal conversation. You can rewind if you don’t understand something and listen to something as many times as you want to. This works really well for practicing following words.
- Listening comprehension: It’s one thing to hear speech, it’s another to understand it! When you follow along with the story that the narrator is reading, you will get practice distinguishing speech. Your brain requires practice helping concepts take root in your mind by practicing joining those concepts to words. This can help you follow conversations more closely in your day-to-day life.
Using audiobooks as aids to auditory training
Reading along with a physical version of your audiobook is definitely advisable. This will help make those linguistic connections stronger in your brain, and your brain could adapt more quickly to the new auditory signals. It’s definitely a great way to enhance your auditory training adventure. Because hearing aids are enhanced by audiobooks.
Audiobooks are also great because they are pretty easy to get right now. There’s an app called Audible which you can get a subscription to. You can instantly purchase them from Amazon or other online vendors. Anywhere you find yourself, you can cue one up on your phone.
Plus, if you can’t find an audiobook you really like, you could always try listening to a podcast to get the same effect (and there are podcasts on pretty much every topic). You can sharpen your hearing and enrich your mind at the same time!
Can I use my hearing aids to listen to audiobooks?
Bluetooth capability is a feature that comes with many modern hearing aids. So all of your Bluetooth-equipped devices, including your phone, your tv, and your speakers, can be paired with your hearing aids. With this, when you listen to an audiobook, you won’t need uncomfortable headphones over your hearing aids. You can use your hearing aids for this instead.
You’ll now get superior sound quality and increased convenience.
Consult us about audiobooks
So come in and talk to us if you’re worried about having trouble getting used to your hearing aids or if you think you may be experiencing hearing loss.
