Hearing aids to help people listen

Bettina Turnbull provides a unique perspective on listening - with expertise in both linguistics and audiology. Bettina has worked in research at the National Acoustic Laboratories, working directly with hearing impaired patients and as a teacher of Audiometry. She has spent the last 5 years introducing hearing care professionals to a client-centered, and more recently, a family-centered approach, which requires an understanding of both the difficulties a hearing loss poses to the ability to listen and the skill to be a good listener.

Bettina shares the story of a visually impaired teacher, who caused her to think about the importance of listening. He wouldn't use a stick, or be assisted by a guide dog, but instead clicked his fingers and listened, to gauge his surroundings.

Bettina's education in linguistics taught her to listen first in order to create, in particular, listening to different sounds. She is multi-lingual, and must listen intently when listening across languages.

As an audiologist, Bettina has strategies to provide the best opportunities for clear speaking and listening: slowing down one's speech, facing people straight on, and situating in a location that is well lit. We can be reluctant to admit we're not listening well, meaning steps aren't taken to remedy it.

Tune in to Learn

• Why you might ask a speaker to slow down
• The difference between hearing and listening
• How to listen for grammar
• How the ear works - how, biologically, we listen

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