Dr Paul talks brain training
Hearing and listening are two entirely different things. Just because you can hear, does not mean that you are able to process complex auditory information effectively ( i.e.listen). If you do have hearing loss, then our ability to process complex information can begin to deteriorate.
Have you noticed when you’re in a noisy environment that you struggle to sort the wheat from chaff, and hear your companion clearly? If that is the case, whether you’re a hearing technology user or not, through fun and bespoke games, accessed from a location, time, and device that suits you, we can significantly improve your listening abilities. This is something that I am a huge advocate of.
Dr Paul Fitzpatrick (BA MTh PGCE FHEA MSc PhD CPsychol), one of my clients embarking on auditory brain training, has kindly agreed to share his experience of using the therapy.
“Working with my audiologist we mapped my deafness and what remained of my hearing.
One of the big issues that I have is that my brain ‘switches off’ and my ability both to use my remaining hearing and to speech read. This often happens in important meetings. It was not until I spoke to Sonja that I began to understand why and that there are physiological consequences to this neuropsychological process.
She suggested brain training. When I began this process I was a little amused at what seemed like simple children’s computer games. I soon began to realise that to the contrary these are highly sophisticated training programs which identify levels of tiredness against response and react accordingly. They are also controlled by one’s own hearing expert who monitors the programs delivery. They therefore do not remain static but are dynamic and push the user to work harder in key areas individualised to hearing loss and concentration.
Three weeks in and I have
- Much higher resilience to external noise and clarity in comprehension
- My brain is much more alert and for much longer
- Both with hearing aids on and off I can articulate spoken words with much better accuracy and this includes speechreading.
With hearing loss management seeming to revolve around expensive (and effective) high tech resolution I was amazed that a training program could be so successful. This doesn’t work in competition with technological aids but is an incredibly positive addition, which has made both my working life and my social life more interactive and positive.”
Auditory Brain Training is useful not only to hearing device users, but in fact anyone who feels they they are struggling to hear well in noisy environments. Just like we need to train our body to stay fit, strong, and healthy, our brain can benefit from this too to keep you up to speed in conversations.