Skill Development

From the chronicles

Why Do I Need Auditory Training?

Hearing aids are a good first step in hearing loss rehabilitation. But hearing aids are not the only step. If you have hearing aids, auditory training is critical to help you meet your potential. If you don’t have hearing aids yet, auditory training is just as important. Auditory training has been described as physical therapy […]

Lipreading Is A Critical Skill

In 2002, when the Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wayne Gretzsky was the head of the Canadian men’s hockey team, and they won a gold medal. After the game, the crowd went wild, and Wayne and Janet Gretzsky were watching with pleased grins on their faces. I followed a part of their […]

Train Your Brain to Hear Better in Noise

Your brain is constantly changing. There’s no “off” switch—even when you’re sleeping! Everything that you do in your day-to-day life will affect how the brain changes. The notorious study of London cab drivers found that their intensive on-the-job training resulted in larger-than-average memory centres. Likewise with practicing the guitar or other musical instruments. “Everytime you […]

Do Other Skills Compensate For Hearing Loss?

Is your eyesight more highly developed if you are deaf? Do blind people have a highly developed sense of hearing? Intuitively, most of us know that can’t be true. I know people who are blind that have hearing aids. People with hearing loss wear glasses. My normally-hearing husband can spot bald eagles long before I […]

I Don’t Have Hearing Aids. Will Auditory Training Help Me?

In a word, yes. In fact, I would argue that auditory training is even more important for you than for someone who has hearing aids. Anyone who has difficulty communicating or listening will benefit from auditory training. As we get older, there are key changes in our brain, that affect our ability to hear in […]

Not ready for hearing aids yet? Overcome noise with auditory training

Do you have trouble hearing when there is background noise—such as in a restaurant, at a party, or in a crowd of people? Join the club. Difficulty with hearing in noise is a sign of hearing loss. In fact, it is a major reason that people get hearing aids. Hearing aids undoubtedly improve our ability […]

LACE Training Strategy: Let It Happen

Today’s blog is written by a guest, Lorraine Watson. Lorraine recently completed her LACE auditory training program. She had an insight during training that will be helpful to others. I will let Lorraine explain it her way. I finally gave in. But at least I can say I didn’t give up. In my world the […]

Mindset and Hearing Loss

Here’s a powerful statement that caught my eye from Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: “How can we know where effort and time will take someone?” People tend to think of their communication and listening skills as fixed and unchanging. They don’t realize that with time and effort, both their listening and […]

Take the “Try” Out of Your Hearing Aid Trial Period

Hearing aid trial periods are sometimes mis-used. People can initiate a trial period without making a full commitment to themselves to make it work. Denise Linn wrote, “In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker hesitantly says he will ‘try’ to complete a task. Yoda, the warrior mystic, replies: ‘No! Not try. Do, or not do.’ Anytime you […]

Context is a Crucial Skill for Hearing Loss

When you have hearing loss, using the context is a crucial skill. Based on where you are, what is happening at the time, and who you are with, you can guess what your conversation partner is saying. One night I was standing in a hotel lobby with a friend. We had just tried another, nicer, hotel, […]