We used to call them books-on-tape, once upon a time. Back then, obviously, we didn’t even have CDs let alone streaming services. These days, people refer to them as audiobooks (which, to be honest, is a far better name).
An audiobook gives you the ability to read a book by, well, listening to it. It’s sort of like having someone read a book aloud to you (okay, it’s precisely that). You’ll be able to learn new things, get lost in an enchanting tale, and explore ideas you never knew about. Audiobooks are a great way to pass time and enrich your mind.
Turns out, they’re also a wonderful way to accomplish some auditory training.
Auditory training – what is it?
Hold on, what’s this auditory training thing, you may ask? 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”). We often discuss auditory training from the perspective of getting accustomed to a set of hearing aids.
That’s because when you have untreated hearing loss, your brain can gradually grow out of practice. (Your auditory centers become accustomed to living in a quieter environment.) So when you get a new set of hearing aids, your brain suddenly has to cope with an influx of additional information. When this occurs, 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. Also, for people who are dealing with auditory processing disorders or have language learning challenges, auditory training can be a helpful tool.
Think of it like this: It’s not really that audiobooks can sharpen your hearing, it’s that they can help you better distinguish what you hear.
When you listen to audiobooks, what happens?
Auditory training was designed to help your brain get accustomed to making sense out of sounds again. Humans have a fairly complex relationship with noise if you really think about it. Every single sound you hear has some significance. It’s a lot for your brain to absorb. So if you’re breaking in a new pair of hearing aids, listening to audiobooks can help your brain become accustomed to hearing and comprehending again.
Audiobooks can help with your auditory training in a few different ways, including the following:
- Listening comprehension: It’s one thing to perceive speech, it’s another to understand it! When you follow the story that the narrator is reading, you will get practice differentiating speech. Your brain needs practice helping ideas take root in your mind by practicing joining those ideas to words. In your daily life, this will help you understand what people are saying to you.
- A bigger vocabulary: Most individuals would love to broaden their vocabulary. Your vocabulary will get stronger as you’re exposed to more words. Impress your friends by using amazingly apt words. Maybe those french fries look dubious, or you’re worried that bringing your friends to the bar will really exacerbate your problems with your boyfriend. With audiobooks, you’ll have just the right words queued up for any situation.
- Perception of speech: When you listen to an audiobook, you get real-time practice comprehending somebody else’s speech. But you also have a little more control than you would during a regular old conversation. You can listen to sentences as many times as you need to in order to distinguish them. It’s the perfect way to practice understanding words!
- Improvements of focus: With some help from your audiobook, you’ll stay focused and engaged for longer periods of time. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been able to participate in a complete conversation, particularly if you’re breaking in a new set of hearing aids. An audiobook can give you some practice in staying focused and tuned in.
- Improvements in pronunciation: You’ll frequently need practice with more than only the hearing part. Individuals with hearing loss often also deal with social isolation, and that can make their communication skills a little out of practice. Audiobooks can make communication a lot easier by helping you get a handle on pronunciation.
Using audiobooks as aids to auditory training
WE recommend that, as you listen to your audiobook, you read along with a physical copy of the book also. This will help make those linguistic associations stronger in your brain, and your brain could adapt faster to the new auditory signals. It’s definitely a great 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. A wide variety of online vendors sell them, and that includes Amazon. And you can listen to them at any time on your phone.
And you can also get podcasts on pretty much every topic in case you can’t find an audiobook you want to listen to. Your mind and your hearing can be enhanced at the same time.
Can I listen to audiobooks through my hearing aids
A wide variety of contemporary hearing aids are Bluetooth equipped. So all of your Bluetooth-enabled devices, including your phone, your tv, and your speakers, can be connected with your hearing aids. This means you don’t need to place cumbersome headphones over your hearing aids just to play an audiobook. Rather, you can listen directly through your hearing aids.
This results in a simpler process and a better quality sound.
Ask us about how audiobooks can help with your auditory training
So if you believe your hearing may be on the way out, or you’re concerned about getting accustomed to your hearing aids, consult us about audiobooks.
