Back in the old days they were known as “books-on-tape”. Naturally, that was long before CDs, much less digital streaming. These days, people call them audiobooks (which, we won’t lie, is a far better name).
With an audiobook, you can listen to the book being read by a narrator. It’s a bit like when you were a kid and a teacher or parent read to you. You’ll be able to learn new things, get lost in an engaging tale, and experience ideas you never knew about. Listening to audiobooks while passing time will be a mind enriching experience.
And they’re also a terrific tool for audio training.
Auditory training – what is it?
So you’re most likely pretty curious about exactly what auditory training is. It sounds complex and an awful lot like school.
Auditory training is a special type of listening, designed to help you increase your ability to process, comprehend, and decipher sounds (medically known as “auditory information”). One of the principal uses of auditory training is to help individuals learn to hear with their new hearing aids.
That’s because when you have untreated hearing loss, your brain can slowly grow out of practice. (Your auditory centers become accustomed to being in a less noisy environment.) So when you get a new set of hearing aids, your brain suddenly has to cope with an influx of extra information. When this takes place, your brain will find it hard, 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 coping with auditory processing conditions or have language learning difficulties, auditory training can be a useful tool.
Another perspective: It’s not really that audiobooks can improve your hearing, it’s that they can help you better understand what you hear.
What happens when I listen to audiobooks?
Auditory training was designed to help your brain get accustomed to distinguishing sounds again. Humans have a fairly complicated relationship with noise if you really think about it. Every single sound signifies something. Your brain needs to do a lot of work. The idea is that audiobooks are a great way to help your brain get used to that process again, particularly if you’re breaking in a new set of hearing aids.
Here are a few ways audiobooks can help with auditory training:
- Listening comprehension: Perceiving speech is one thing, comprehending it is another thing entirely. Audiobooks give you practice digesting and understanding what is being talked about. Your brain requires practice helping ideas take root in your mind by practicing joining those concepts to words. This can help you follow conversations more closely in your day-to-day life.
- A bigger vocabulary: Who doesn’t want to increase their vocabulary? The more words you’re exposed to, the larger your vocabulary will become. Surprise your friends by using amazingly apt words. Maybe those potatoes look dubious, or you’re concerned that bringing your friends to the bar will really exacerbate your issues with your boyfriend. With audiobooks, you’ll have just the right words ready for any situation.
- Improvements in pronunciation: Sometimes, it’s not just the hearing part that can need some practice. Hearing loss can often bring on social isolation which can cause communication skills to atrophy. Audiobooks can make communication a great deal easier by helping you get a grip on pronunciation.
- 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 normal conversation. You can rewind if you can’t understand something and listen to something as many times as you want to. This works really well for practicing making out words.
- Improvements of focus: With a little help from your audiobook, you’ll remain focused and involved for longer periods of time. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been able to engage in a full conversation, especially if you’re breaking in a new pair of hearing aids. You may require some practice tuning in and staying focused, and audiobooks can help you with that.
Using audiobooks as aids to auditory training
WE suggest that, as you enjoy your audiobook, you also read along with a physical copy of the book also. Your brain will adapt faster to new audio inputs making those linguistic connections stronger. It’s definitely a great way to enhance your auditory training experience. That’s because audiobooks enhance hearing aids.
Audiobooks are also good because they’re pretty easy to get these days. You can subscribe to them on an app called Audible. A wide variety of online vendors sell them, including Amazon. And you can listen to them at any time on your phone.
Also, if you can’t find an audiobook you particularly like, you could always try listening to a podcast to get the same effect (and there are podcasts on pretty much every topic). Your mind and your hearing can be enhanced at the same time.
Can I utilize my hearing aids to play audiobooks?
Many contemporary hearing aids are Bluetooth enabled. Meaning, you can pair your hearing aids with your cellphone, your speakers, your tv, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device. With this, when you play an audiobook, you won’t need uncomfortable headphones over your hearing aids. Instead, you can listen directly with your hearing aids.
This results in a simpler process and a better quality sound.
Consult us about audiobooks
So if you believe your hearing might be on the way out, or you’re uneasy about getting used to your hearing aids, talk to us about audiobooks.