Aural Rehabilitation

The human body is intricately designed to execute the most basic to complex functions.  Many of these functions occur involuntarily to enrich our quality of life. The ear works in the same way. Our ears rapidly work to transmit and optimize the sounds in our environment for the purpose of protection, safety, and for meaningful connections with others through verbal communication. Unfortunately, when the hearing sense begins to deteriorate, it effectually disrupts the quality of engagement with those around us.

Individuals who suffer from hearing impairment often become disheartened by the limitations imposed upon them by their new reality. They tend to avoid social settings, isolating themselves due to sheer frustration and embarrassment of the inability to keep up with the dynamics of verbal communication, which can then lead to further health complications such as depression. Untreated hearing loss is can permeate other areas of life with dire circumstances. For instance, if the sole income earner in a household has an untreated hearing loss, it may impact her performance at work, causing her to be overlooked for a much-needed promotion. Perhaps it is the teenager who is struggling academically due to his inability to be fully engaged in class, as he is unable to hear his teachers and classmates. Not knowing how to advocate for himself, he accepts his performance as a reflection of his abilities and undercuts his future potential and dreams.

Audiologist utilize a holistic family-centered counseling technique known as aural rehabilitation to combat the negative consequences of hearing loss in the lives of patients. This article is primarily centered on rehabilitation, not habilitation—the technical term for managing and counseling individuals who have not had the ability to hear before—typically associated with the equally compassionate work of Pediatric Audiologists. The objective of aural rehabilitation is to make use of all necessary resources to educate, train, manage, and counsel patients and their loved ones on ways to improve the quality of lives after hearing loss. It is often times an emotional, difficult, yet fruitful process that requires a significant level of commitment for success. The first step to treatment is discovering the existence of a problem. If you or a loved one is noticing any of the symptoms listed below, please do not hesitate to contact Professional Hearing Center to establish a baseline audiologic evaluation.

Signs and Symptoms:

• Frequently asking people to repeat themselves
• Constantly saying “what” or “huh”
• Reading lips to grasp what has been said
• Difficulty following conversations with multiple talkers
• Difficulty understanding speech in background noise (e.g. restaurant setting, meetings, etc.)