Overview:

Have you recently been fitted with a cochlear implant or custom hearing aid? Or are you experiencing hearing loss and are ready to get back to feeling better? An aural rehabilitation session with us might be just what you need for overall wellness. Here's what to know about the benefits of aural rehabilitation for patients with hearing loss.

What is Aural Rehabilitation?

Aural rehabilitation uses several forms of therapy to help improve the quality of life and daily functioning in patients with hearing loss, cochlear implants, and hearing aids. It is sometimes also called auditory therapy.

Aural rehabilitation is performed by licensed specialists known as speech-language pathologists, who use several techniques to increase wellness. These can include:

• speech therapy
• auditory training
• understanding speech
• lip-reading training
• best usage practices for hearing aids and cochlear implants

What Are the Benefits of Aural Rehabilitation?

There are multiple benefits to undergoing aural rehabilitation. If you've recently been fitted for a cochlear implant or hearing aid, an aural rehabilitation session can help you learn to use your devices for maximum benefit.

Depending on your symptoms, certain practices such as speech therapy and understanding speech can help patients improve their listening and auditory skills, enhancing their ability to better communicate with others. Studies have shown that regular aural rehabilitation treatments benefit patients with hearing loss and significantly improve their quality of life.

What to Expect During an Aural Rehabilitation Appointment

If you've never had an aural rehabilitation session before, you might be wondering what to expect during your first appointment. Aural rehabilitation is recommended for patients of all ages that are experiencing hearing loss. A trained speech-language pathologist at Emanuel Kontos, DMD will begin by asking you a series of questions to determine your medical history, including the degree of your hearing loss and your current emotional and mental health status.

From there, your pathologist may recommend one or all four of the aural rehabilitation treatments that exist:

• sensory management - used to improve a patient's auditory skills
• instruction - to understand their hearing loss, as well as any devices they may be using
• adaptive perceptual training - which includes consonant-identification training and syllable training
• counseling - to assist with mental health issues that may result from a hearing loss diagnosis

For more information about aural rehabilitation contact Emanuel Kontos, DMD at (727) 939-2099.