AUDITORY REHABILITATION
Posted by recep on April 2nd, 2009The goal of rehabilitation is to achieve the best hearing possible by using a combination of amplification, speech reading, and auditory training.
Speech Reading
The term speech reading has replaced lip reading because linguistic information is obtained not only by watching the speaker’s lips but also by following facial expressions and gestures. Such visual cues may be an adjunct or an alternative to hearing aids. Decreasing visual acuity and poor short-term memory may militate against mastering speech reading.
Auditory Training
Auditory training is often combined with an amplification device to maximize benefit. Auditory training can help patients discriminate between distinctly differing sounds with hearing alone, eventually enabling them to develop schemes for making fine distinctions, particularly between similar speech sounds. In essence, such training makes the patient more aware of subtle auditory clues.
With auditory training, as with any aspect of auditory rehabilitation, having interested family members accompany the geriatric patient is helpful. Family members not only can provide encouragement and support but also may prompt the older patient when short-term memory fails.
