The value of lip-reading is overlooked but it can help transform lives - Helena Milnes

At The Hearing Suite in Harrogate, we help people on a daily basis in finding the right hearing aids and resolving hearing difficulties. Whilst technology has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, we understand helping with hearing loss requires a holistic approach. 55 per cent of face-to-face communication comes from body language and facial expressions, aspects of this helps us to understand context in conversation. Think back to the pandemic, and how much harder it was talking to people wearing masks. We lip read unintentionally but knowing how to do it properly can massively benefit people who have hearing loss and people who are deaf.

However, discovering our local teacher was retiring after 27 years, we really didn’t want this service to be lost for our community. Looking for courses wasn’t easy, and in the end, I found a course in London. It was blended learning, so some online and the rest face to face, but I have thoroughly enjoyed doing it. Learning how people use their lips, tongue, and teeth to form distinctive shapes when speaking to help interpret what they are saying when we haven’t heard what has been said.

Learning the difference between how we have different lip shapes; there are visible consonants and vowels but also lipreading confusion groups. Understanding we can pick up on parts of a sentence, using context allows us to then backfill the rest of the sentence of words we potentially aren’t sure on. Using a combination of hearing aids and giving people the ability to also lip read, boosts their confidence, especially when out and meeting people. I often think in all aspects of my life that “the more strings to your bow”, the better we are at dealing with tricky situations and that’s no different when looking at audiology and hearing loss.

Another advantage to us launching lip reading courses, is that the classes themselves provide an opportunity to socialise and be introduced to other people facing similar challenges. I often encounter people of all ages who comment they don’t know anyone else with hearing loss, now they probably do but it is still a subject that isn’t openly discussed with friends. Many who attend lipreading classes find a community with others who can relate to their own difficulties. A class that also becomes a group, they support each other in their learning, and through doing this do not feel so isolated and alone.

In the sessions I want to provide as much variety as possible, topical news, literature, nature, hobbies – I will ensure there is something for everyone. I believe it is important to differentiate a class, so everyone is welcome.

Whilst aiming to have all the classes face to face, we all learned that it is possible to do things online throughout the pandemic, so a blended approach is important. Recognising those who may only be able to look at online learning for many reasons is something we will work to accommodate.

However, the benefits of seeing others learning alongside you does have many rewards. Our long-term goal will be providing each person with strategies to help them with every aspect of communication. People who were previously outgoing and sociable can feel less like themselves due to loss and become more withdrawn. For me it’s all about accessibility and ensuring people can continue their daily lives as much as they can, enjoying activities and having the confidence when socialising or interacting with others.

What I want is to enable people and make situations less challenging and provide accessibility for everyone with hearing issues, whether sudden hearing loss, acquired loss or from birth. Our aim is giving confidence and skills to maximise how they live their lives.

However, it is not just educating the person with the hearing impairment, but the people around them too. If you know someone has a hearing impairment, ensure you are facing them when you talk to them, and don’t walk away as you talk. Get their attention, don’t cover your face as you talk and check if they have understood what’s said. It is small changes we can all make to help conversations be easier for all involved.

Hopefully we can make a difference to many people and give them the confidence to prevent them from withdrawing from situations leading to the feeling of loneliness.

Helena Milnes FdSc HAA is an advanced audiologist at The Hearing Suite.