Hearing impairment refers to a partial or total difficulty hearing sounds and speech. It can affect people of all ages, including children, teenagers, and adults, and may be present from birth or develop later in life. Hearing impairment can impact speech, language development, communication, learning, and social participation.
We support individuals with hearing impairment by working alongside families, audiologists, and other professionals to develop listening, communication, and language skills. Support may include speech and language therapy, listening strategies, and guidance for families and educators to help communication succeed across everyday environments.
Auditory rehabilitation
Auditory rehabilitation is a specialised therapy program designed to help children, teenagers, and adults who receive hearing implants learn how to hear and understand sounds using their new implants. Hearing implants include cochlear implants, auditory brainstem implants, bone conduction implants, middle ear implants. Because implants provide sound in a different way than natural hearing, the brain needs time and practice to learn how to interpret these sounds.
Auditory rehabilitation focuses on developing listening skills, including detecting sounds, telling the difference between speech sounds, understanding words and sentences, and following conversations in everyday environments. Therapy may also support skills such as listening in noisy places, recognising voices, enjoying music and improving speech clarity. Family members and caregivers are often involved so that listening and communication skills can be practised at home and in daily life.
During the first session of your auditory rehabilitation program, your therapist will find out what your listening skills are like right now, set realistic and achievable goals and you will be given activities to complete at home. Subsequent sessions will help train your brain to distinguish between speech sounds and continue to support you to reach your goals.