That is to say, people with hearing impairment should develop strategies as both a listener and as a speaker to enhance their communicative effectiveness. (See, Erber, 1998 Tye-Murray, 1998, Alpiner & McCarthy, 2000 and Schow, 2001 for further discussion.) In other words, we need to address hearing impairment as both an input and an output problem. They define communication as an interactive process that requires periodic role switching by the speaker and the listener and as a process that requires frequent repair. 382)' and, even under the best circumstances, we cannot restore our clients' hearing to normal.Īccordingly, many professionals have stressed the communication needs of hearing impaired individuals should be addressed in a broader context. As Montgomery and Houston (2000) have noted, even 'unimpaired communication is not error-free (p. The assumption has been that restoring speech recognition will restore effective communication.Īlthough restoring speech recognition has intuitive appeal, this approach may not address the total needs of our clients.

Recognizing that amplification is not a perfect solution to hearing loss, we have augmented amplification with training in visual recognition of speech and manipulation of environmental variables to optimize multi-modal (auditory and visual) speech recognition.

Our primary aim has been to improve audibility, equalize loudness, and improve word recognition (Dillon, 2001). For example, attention has been focused primarily upon remediation of the auditory sensory deficit through judicious application of amplification. Traditionally, hearing health care professionals view hearing loss as an input problem. In addition, sales of hearing aids have remained fairly flat over time, while the segment of our population who might benefit from amplification (those over 55 years of age) has been growing (Strom, 2002). Yet, a large number of individuals fit with hearing aids either return them or do not wear them. There is emerging evidence that suggests we are making considerable progress with regard to hearing aid satisfaction (Northern, 2001, personal communication).

Aural rehabilitation training plans