Skill Development

From the chronicles

Learn to read lips No. 43

I have noticed that people are not offered troubleshooting strategies when they are lipreading and they guess wrong. It’s important to have a back-up strategy if the first thing you see doesn’t make sense. In my lipreading classes, I teach substitution skills, as it seems to be the most effective back-up strategy. Try this one. […]

How does brain chemistry help you to hear in noise?

I can’t say this enough: your ability to hear in noise is not fixed! A key is to be able to practice near your learning threshold. The difficulty level is paramount. Brain chemistry can help you to hear in noise: For more information, see Why do I need auditory training?

Learn to read lips No. 42

As a teacher of lip reading, an important skill that I impart is substitution. You can get more practice with my free lessons on YouTube. In under two hours, you will get the information you need to start rockin’ at lipreading! I also offer one-to-one lipreading instruction. Related post: Learn to read lips #41

Have hearing loss, but don’t need “help”?

There are short-term and long term impacts of not pursuing “help” for hearing loss. My take on it is that if you bump up against any of the short-term impacts listed here, it’s time to take action. Taking action doesn’t have to be hearing aids, if you’re not ready. But do something! Examples include […]

Learn to read lips No. 41

If you’re learning to read lips, you can expect to make mistakes. The mistakes are not serious; the conversation will keep flowing if you have a way to recover. Substitution skills are the best way to get back on track. Try it with me now, in this short (31 seconds) video: You can get […]

Learn to read lips #40

When you’re learning to read lips, substitution is an essential skill. Try it now, in this 57-second video! To get more information about which sounds look the same, and practice with substituting those sounds, see my free lessons on YouTube. Related post: Learn to read lips #39

Learn to read lips #39

Substitution is a crucial skill when learning to read lips. See this 37-second video to understand what’s involved: You can get more substitution practice with my free Lipreading Challenge on YouTube. I also offer one-to-one lipreading instruction. Related post: Learn to read lips #38

Life with a second cochlear implant

Sequential cochlear implantation means getting two cochlear implants in two separate surgeries, with a gap of months or years between them. The gap in my case was 20 years. Before the second surgery, my score was 0% for live voice sentences in quiet. At the first anniversary of my activation, with live voice at […]

Gestures for clearer communication Part 2

When you use gestures to make a point or emphasize the meaning, it can be really helpful for people with hearing loss. Here are 11 gestures for clearer communication: Send this link to the person in your life who has hearing loss to make sure they are on the same page! (No pun […]

Are you learning a new language? Auditory training can help!

Learning a new language is great for your brain. Research shows that while there are long-term advantages for your brain, learning a new language can introduce immediate processing costs, particularly when listening in noisy environments. The cost of code switching between two languages comes at the expense of listening in noise. People don’t hear as […]