Back in the old days they were called “books-on-tape”. Of course, that was long before CDs, much less digital streaming. These days, people refer to them as audiobooks (which, we won’t lie, is a much better name).
With an audiobook, you will listen to the book as it’s being read by a narrator. It’s sort of like having someone read a book out loud to you (okay, it’s precisely that). You’ll be able to learn new things, get lost in an engaging tale, and explore ideas you were never aware of. Listening to audiobooks when you’re passing time will be a mind enriching experience.
And they’re also a great tool for audio training.
Auditory training – what is it?
Wait, wait, wait, what’s this auditory training thing, you ask? It sounds laborious like homework.
Auditory training is a special type of listening, designed to help you increase your ability to process, comprehend, and interpret sounds (medically known as “auditory information”). One of the main uses of auditory training is to help people learn to hear with their new hearing aids.
That’s because when you have neglected hearing loss, your brain can gradually grow out of practice. (Your auditory centers become accustomed to living in a less noisy environment.) So when you get a new pair of hearing aids, your brain abruptly has to cope with an influx of extra information. Practically, this often means that your brain can’t process those sounds as well as it generally does (at least, not at first). Auditory training can be a useful tool to help handle this. Also, for individuals who are dealing with auditory processing disorders or have language learning challenges, auditory training can be a helpful tool.
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.
When you listen to audiobooks, what happens?
Auditory training was created to help your brain get accustomed to distinguishing sounds again. If you think about it, humans have a really complex relationship with noise. Every sound signifies something. It’s a lot for your brain to manage. So if you’re breaking in a new pair of hearing aids, listening to audiobooks can help your brain become accustomed to hearing and understanding again.
Here are a number of ways audiobooks can assist with auditory training:
- A bigger vocabulary: Most individuals would love to increase their vocabulary. Your vocabulary will get bigger as you’re exposed to more words. Let your impressive new words impress all of your friends. Perhaps those french fries look dubious, or you’re concerned that bringing your friends to the bar will really exacerbate your issues with your boyfriend. With audiobooks, you’ll have just the right words queued up for any situation.
- Listening comprehension: It’s one thing to hear speech, it’s another to comprehend it! When you follow the story that the narrator is reading, you will get practice distinguishing speech. Your brain needs practice joining words to concepts, and helping those concepts stay rooted in your mind. In your daily life, this will help you distinguish what people are saying to you.
- Improvements in pronunciation: You’ll often need practice with more than only the hearing part. Hearing loss can often bring on social solitude which can cause communication skills to atrophy. Audiobooks can help you get a grip on the pronunciation of words, making general communication a lot smoother!
- Perception of speech: Audiobooks will help you get accustomed to hearing and understanding speech again. During typical conversations, however, you will have a lot less control than you will with an audiobook. You can listen to sentences numerous times in order to understand them. It’s an excellent way to practice understanding words!
- Improvements of focus: With a little help from your audiobook, you’ll stay focused and engaged for longer periods of time. Maybe it’s been some time since you’ve been able to engage in a full conversation, particularly if you’re getting used to a new pair of hearing aids. An audiobook can give you some practice in staying focused and tuned in.
Using audiobooks as aids to auditory training
Reading along with a physical copy of your audiobook is highly recommended. Your brain will adjust faster to new audio inputs making those linguistic links more robust. It’s definitely a good way to enhance your auditory training experience. That’s because audiobooks complement hearing aids.
Audiobooks are also great because they’re pretty easy to come by 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 sellers. Anyplace you find yourself, you can cue one up on your phone.
And there are also podcasts on just about every topic in case you can’t find an audiobook you feel like listening to. You can sharpen your hearing and enrich your mind at the same time!
Can I utilize my hearing aids to play audiobooks?
Bluetooth functionality is a feature that comes with many contemporary hearing aids. Meaning, you can pair your hearing aids with your phone, your speakers, your tv, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device. With this, when you listen to an audiobook, you won’t have uncomfortable headphones over your hearing aids. You can utilize your hearing aids for this instead.
This results in a simpler process and a higher quality sound.
Talk to us about audiobooks
So if you believe your hearing may be starting to go, or you’re uneasy about getting accustomed to your hearing aids, talk to us about audiobooks.