One type of therapy we offer at Timpanogos Hearing & Balance is called LACE (Listening And Communication Enhancement). This is a low cost training program that allows you to perform additional training in your own home. This program is proven to improve one's ability to listen more effectively especially in noisy situations, which is the main complaint of people with hearing loss.
LACE is done using a computer or DVD. LACE is designed to enhance listening and communication skills, get the patient involved in the therapeutic process, improve confidence levels, and provide communication strategies. The program consists of a variety of interactive and adaptive training tasks for listening to speech in noise, rapid speech, and auditory memory.
Besides the immediate feedback given for each task, LACE provides the patient with a graph depicting daily improvement and progress from the start of the training.
It should be reinforced at this point that better hearing is not a passive process where you simply let the hearing aids do all the work; success does not rest solely on the hearing aid and the expertise of the hearing healthcare professional. To optimize your hearing aid experience you must become an active participant. One of the best ways to do this is to become an active listener using software like LACE.
LACE training is conducted in the privacy of your own home at a pace comfortable to you.. LACE consists of twenty 20-30 minute listening exercises of progressing difficulty and can be completed in ten days, or longer if you wish. Research on thousands of people with hearing loss demonstrates that you can expect on average a 40% improvement of speech comprehension in noisy situations, if you complete the training program. Using the listening skills you will acquire with this software, along with communication strategies as well as the advanced features of your hearing aids such as directional microphones or wireless technology you could do even better depending on your degree of hearing loss.
Here are some questions and answers about LACE.
Q. How do I know if I need LACE auditory retraining therapy?
A. All people whose hearing loss is less than profound or deaf will benefit from auditory retraining therapy. In fact even normal hearing people can benefit by training their brain to listen better in noisy situations.
Q. Where do I get LACE software?
A. You can get LACE directly from your hearing healthcare professional at Timpanogos Hearing & Balance.
Q. How much does it cost?
A. If you purchased hearing technology from Timpanogos Hearing & Balance, we only charge $50 for the program. If you buy it online, you will pay $100 to $150.
Q. What equipment will I need to do LACE?
A. It is preferred while wearing your hearing aids that you use a computer with loudspeakers through your mouse or keyboard. If you do not have a computer the DVD version allows you to take the listening skills training using the DVD remote but for those with manual dexterity problems this may be difficult. In addition you will not be able to connect to the Internet to send your on-going results to your hearing healthcare professional, which is a helpful part of your therapy program.
Q. Will my acquired listening skills be permanent?
A. Yes they will; but some people may need refresher training with their software.
If you have questions about this program of about hearing better in general, you can call our office at 801-770-0801 or go to www.utahhearingaids.com.
