“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Robert McCloskey

Think about how a physical therapist treats someone with a knee injury. They might use a knee brace, but they always give the patient a series of exercises, and the exercises change slowly as their patient gets stronger. Treating a hearing loss is similar because a hearing aid is just an aid. It’s not enough. Sometimes it isn’t even appropriate.

Aural rehabilitation is something audiologists do to help hearing impaired people overcome a hearing handicap. Audiologists do a little bit of it whenever they test hearing or balance. It’s also part of helping someone get used to a hearing aid. It includes diagnosis, counseling related to hearing loss, education on assistive technology, learning communication strategies, giving information on community and non-profit resources, speech perception training, and instruction for family members. The communication strategies can include things like sign language and lip-reading.

Aural rehab is relevant for the 14% of adults who have a hearing loss, but it’s also relevant for an even larger group, family and friends of people with hearing loss. I am currently developing a series of 6 aural rehabilitation classes. It may be offered at SBCC Adult Education, at a retirement community, at the Hearing Loss Association of America meetings, or at a public library. We’ll see. I’ll announce it when the dates are set. Call or shoot me an email if you’re interested.

audiologyhome@protonmail.com
805-881-2620