Back to School, Back to Hearing and Processing

Originally published on September 7, 2021

As September brings the start of a new school year, we must ensure students are prepared to learn in all ways. Hearing is critical in providing access to all sounds and information needed to guarantee success. Even with hearing aids, students with hearing loss still may struggle in the classroom or through virtual learning.

To set your student up for success here are some helpful tips:

• For virtual learning, ask the teacher to turn on live captions and to record the session so students are able to view the lecture again.
• For in person teaching, make sure the student has front of the classroom seating for better audibility and so students with hearing loss can lip read.
• A reduction of background noise is highly recommended in the classroom for better understanding and for those in virtual learning, choosing the quietest room in the household would be the most effective.

Background noise is difficult, even for students with normal hearing, but even more so for students with hearing loss. It is critical a student with hearing loss is prepared to be in this environment. If your student is struggling in background noise, an assistive listening hearing aid may be needed. The assistive listening hearing aid will stream directly into the students hearing aids and amplify the teachers voice over the background noise to help the student understand better.

For students with hearing loss that continue to have listening difficulties, Amptify is highly recommended for training the brain to understand speech better including:

• Auditory attention
• Word memory
• Auditory processing speed

Amptify is a computer-based program that consists of games to strengthen your listening skills. Amptify’s auditory training computer games can be played on a smartphone, an iPad, tablet, a computer, or a laptop. This means students can take them anywhere and stop and start throughout their day. The games are for everyone! Everyone that has hearing aids should be playing and any person with difficulty hearing in background noise even with normal hearing would benefit.

This is a great time to play as we need these skills to understand and participate as we enter back into school and are ready to learn.

If you would like even more details about Amptify, click here.