Just as you need to exercise your body to keep it performing well and at a high level, you also need to exercise your brain to optimize it’s ability to work for you. Hearing aids are just one component of the service that I offer to my patients. I find that many people are assisted by hearing aids alone but many also need other services to adequately address their hearing needs. It has always been my goal to offer the most up to date products, services and systems to assist you in hearing and understanding the very best that you can. During the last year, I have been researching many new areas and have decided to offer the following cutting edge programs to provide my patients with that extra help that may be needed.
Programs specific to people with hearing loss
LACE (Listening and Communication Enhancement) Program: ( also DVD based) LACE is an interactive computerized aural rehabilitation program that has already helped thousands of people who live with some degree of hearing loss increase their listening skills by 40%. Just as physical therapy can help rebuild muscles and adjust movements to compensate for physical weakness or injury, LACE can develop skills and strategies that can help compensate for those situations when hearing is inadequate.
We don’t really hear in our ears; we hear in our brain. Hearing aids can help a person detect softer sounds, but they don’t necessarily provide good listening skills. Even people with normal hearing can be poor listeners. Good listening skills are one of the essential components in effective communication. Other components include rapid thought processing, auditory memory, use of language skills, and interactive strategies. These abilities can be damaged both by hearing loss and by the natural aging process. LACE is designed to enhance the ability to communicate by training the brain to best utilize these skills.
Sensesynergy.com: read my quips™ exercises your brain holistically. You’re not just learning parts of speech out of context, but a real-life skill in a real-life set-up. No other home training program offers the combination of visual and auditory information. Plus, we offer advice along the way, developed by researchers to help you incorporate your new skills into your life. And it works! ReadMyQuips™ has been clinically shown to improve speech comprehension by over 40%. https://www.sensesynergy.com/
Programs not specific to people with hearing loss
POSITSCIENCE.COM: The Brain Fitness Program Classic Brain HQ https://www.positscience.com/why-brainhq is Posit Science’s original program for the auditory system of the brain. Auditory processing is a fundamental root of brain fitness because much of the important information we take in each day—and that we want to respond to, remember, and use later—comes in through speech. The Brain Fitness Program improves the quality and quantity of the information your brain absorbs from your ears. You can go to https://www.positscience.com/why-brainhq and take a free test to see how well you process.
Lumosity.com: Multiple studies have been published on Lumosity’s ability to improve key abilities such as working memory, visual attention, fluid intelligence, and executive function. No matter what your age, improving these core cognitive abilities can improve real-life abilities. Fee demo available at https://www.lumosity.com/
Reading: out loud or having someone read out loud to you 5-10 mins a day. Have someone sit across from you, close your eyes and as the other person reads a sentence, repeat back EXACTLY what they said. If you get a word wrong, have them repeat it, if you still get it wrong, open your eyes and have them repeat it. This is a fantastic exercise for you!