Audiobooks are growing in popularity, and for good reason: it’s easy and convenient to listen while driving, walking or doing chores around the house. You can dive into a good book without making time to sit down and read. What’s more, listening to an audiobook can have some incredible benefits for your hearing health.
How Do Audiobooks Help Me Hear Better?
Listening to audiobooks engages many of the parts of our auditory system that are among the first to deteriorate in the early stages of hearing loss. Often, one of the first signs of hearing loss is difficulty following conversations, especially in noisy environments. This difficulty occurs because the brain is struggling to interpret the sound it’s getting and to filter out all the background noise.
Audiobooks strengthen the parts of the brain that interpret sound and filter background noise. This enhances speech perception and listening comprehension. Better yet, it happens in a fun way, while you listen to an engaging story or learn something new.
Tips for Starting Out with Audiobooks
If you believe you’re in the beginning stages of hearing loss and want to improve your speech understanding, consider these tips as a warm-up:
- Decrease the speed. Audiobook players allow you to adjust the speed of the audio. By slowing it down, you give yourself time to process what you’ve heard, without it moving on without you.
- Read and listen at the same time. If you’ve been struggling to keep up, try reading the physical book and listening to the audiobook at the same time. It’s just like reading subtitles while watching a movie.
- Choose audiobooks with male voice actors. Higher pitches often fade first with hearing loss. If you’ve been struggling with this, look for voice actors with lower-pitched voices. You’ll have an easier time hearing them.
- Take notes. Reinforce your reading comprehension by taking notes. Even just jotting down a sentence or two about what happened at the end of each listening session can do wonders.
As your listening skills improve, you can phase these tips out and listen to all voice actors or increase the playback speed. Keep it fun and enjoy your book!
If you want to find out more about how audiobooks can help with hearing health, contact Ear, Nose & Throat Consultants. Additionally, if you’re concerned about the beginning phases of hearing loss, come in for a hearing test.