Audiobooks are a great way to enjoy a good story or learn something new from a thought-provoking nonfiction book, without needing to make time to sit down and read a book. Audiobooks allow you to listen to a book while doing chores or running errands. What’s more, they’re emerging as a technique to strengthen hearing skills and combat hearing loss.
The Ear and the Brain: How Hearing Works
When sound waves hit our ears, they embark on a multi-step process that culminates in us hearing the sound. Sound waves enter our ear and travel down the ear canal into the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ located in the inner ear. The cochlea then translates the sound waves into electrical signals and sends these signals to the brain via the auditory nerve. The auditory processing center of the brain receives these signals and interprets them as sound, and that’s when you perceive, or hear, the sound.
What Is Auditory Training?
If you have hearing loss or are in the beginning stages of hearing loss, the connection between the cochlea and the auditory processing center is not functioning as well as it could be. Often, one of the first signs of hearing loss is difficulty following conversations, especially in noisy environments. This difficulty occurs because the auditory processing center is struggling to interpret the sound information it’s getting.
Auditory training regimens strengthen the auditory processing center and exercise our comprehension muscles. There are a number of auditory training exercises, such as speech-in-noise training, memory exercises and text following, the latter of which can look very similar to listening to an audiobook.
How Audiobooks Work for Auditory Training
Audiobooks serve as auditory training tools, enhancing our speech perception and listening comprehension. We stretch our speech perception ability by listening to the words and understanding their meaning, and we stretch our listening comprehension by applying those words and following an overarching plot or message. It’s a very effective tool!
With that in mind, check out audiobooks and stretch your listening skills, and have fun doing it.
Talk to an Audiologist
Audiobooks are a great place to start, but if you suspect that you are in the beginning stages of hearing loss, auditory training alone won’t resolve the issue. Hearing loss has numerous treatment options, and informed decision-making starts with a hearing test. Contact Beneficial Hearing Aid Center to schedule an appointment for an audiogram.