Speech Therapy Benefits for Hearing Loss
Hearing Loss: Speech Therapy Springfield PA
National Save Your Hearing Day is designed to help people better understand how to protect their hearing. It involves tips like learning to use ear protection at concerts or when using power tools. What if your dad’s hearing is already impacted? Not all cases of hearing loss are preventable. Neurological disorders, traumatic injuries, and genetics can all play a part, but speech therapy helps your dad communicate his needs, improve his listening skills, and improves his quality of life.
What Do Speech Therapists Do?
When your dad is in speech therapy, he’s going to work on skill improvements like resonance, articulation, and voice. He may not hear how he sounds to others, but doesn’t mean he can’t talk at all. His therapist will help him assess how he’s talking to ensure his communications with others are clear and understandable. This also helps him avoid frustration.
At the same time, your dad can’t hear other people’s responses, but he could learn other ways to communicate. Lip reading, judging facial expressions, hand gestures, and sign language are options. He could carry a pad with him for note writing.
The session begins with a consultation where the therapist assesses exactly how your dad’s hearing loss affects his daily life. A plan of action is developed from here, and your dad will work on his speech, understanding, and communication. Families are usually invited to sessions so that they also learn the best ways to converse.
Your dad and his speech therapist work over weeks and months making improvements along the way. As he starts to develop skills that make it easier for him, he’ll push his comfort level a little and start trying new things.
He may not attend larger gatherings due to the fear of being misunderstood or feeling left out. His therapist can help him work up to larger events. Both your dad and his family caregivers will have the tools needed to make it a successful day.
How Do You Get Started?
Has your dad’s doctor referred him to an ear, nose, and throat doctor for an evaluation? Start there to ensure there’s nothing that could be done to improve or slow your dad’s loss of hearing. Sometimes, people are surprised to find out they have a blockage from a cyst or ear wax. Removal of those blockages can restore hearing.
Once your dad has seen an ENT professional, options like speech therapy and hearing aids are addressed. From there, you can call a speech therapy practice and arrange a consultation.
Speech therapy is beneficial to both you and your dad. He’ll learn essential communication skills, and you will be able to work on communication with him, too. Call a speech therapy specialist to learn more.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Speech Therapy in Springfield, PA please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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