What is Aural Rehabilitation?
Aural Rehabilitation is the technical term used for the ongoing counselling and education process required to assist hard-of-hearing people learn how to effectively use their hearing instruments.
Aural Rehabilitation encompasses different strategies used to help you move from hearing loss to hearing solutions.
Aural Rehabilitation for adults includes:
- Hearing aid orientation – Proper use and care of your hearing aids, along with being counselled on realistic expectations.
- Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) – In addition to hearing aids, other devices may be beneficial to your hearing health and may include TV listening devices, FM systems, etc.
- Visual cues – Using your eyes to provide hints as to what is being discussed by looking at facial expressions and body language.
- Speechreading – Also known as lip reading, involves formal training on how to recognise sounds and how these sounds “look” when speaking.
- Audiologic rehabilitation – This involves providing the patient and their family with tips on how to improve communication.
Aural Rehabilitation for children
Aural rehabilitation in children would really be “habilitative,” as young children are usually learning the skill of hearing. A skill they didn’t have previously or at least not in its full capacity. Adults, on the other hand, usually go through rehabilitation to regain the skill of hearing at an appropriate level.
Habilitation methods for children include:
- Auditory perception training – Increasing a child’s ability to identify sounds, distinguish between those sounds and attach meaning to what they’re hearing.
- Hearing aid and Assistive Listening Device (ALD) evaluation and orientation – This involves guidance for parents on selecting the appropriate device for their child. This also includes the proper use and care of the child’s hearing aids or ALDs. This process involves both parents and children, who as they grow older will learn to manage their hearing devices.
- Communication development – This includes auditory, speech/language, and sign language.
- Literacy skills development – reading, writing, and cognition.
- Visual cues – Using your eyes to provide hints as to what is being discussed by looking at facial expressions and body language.
Aural rehabilitation is a key component to getting the most out of your hearing aids and assistive listening devices. Your Audiologist or Hearing Instrument Specialist is a useful resource in your journey toward better hearing.
At Hearing Solutions, patients can always book an appointment to receive counselling for free, as part of their hearing aid package.
For more information on Aural Rehabilitation and how Hearing Solutions can help, click here to set up a free, no-obligation consultation or hearing test.