If you attend one of our Hearing Loss Management Groups, here is what you can expect to happen.

Our groups are also a support group. You can meet with people who have experienced similar problems as you. If you are considering having a Cochlear implant you can discuss it with someone who has already had an implant. People in the group understand your problems because they have a similar hearing loss journey.

The groups are small – 6 to 10 people. They meet in a quiet room, with no loud noise, so it is easy to hear what is being said. When one person is speaking, everyone listens. Information given can easily be repeated if you don’t hear it the first time.

For each session, a format is followed, so each session is similar, but different. The session starts with a Warm Up, where members try to lip-read what is being said. The topic of the word is given to help members lip-read and guess what the word might be. This exercise helps the members get their mind into ‘lip-reading’ mode.

In Auditory Discrimination, short sentences are said in a soft voice, to see how softly other members of the group can hear.

The lip reading sounds, e.g. P B M, are then introduced. How they are formed by the mouth, teeth and tongue are discussed and practiced. Short sentences containing these sounds are then said by class members without voice and other members try to lip-read these sentences. This is great lip-reading practice.

Speech Conservation is the next exercise. An interesting story or historical information is then read, each member reading a paragraph at a time. This gives members the opportunity to speak with vocal variety, so as to avoid speaking in a monotonous tone, as people with hearing loss can tend to do. Interesting and intelligent conversations usually follow.

In each session, a different Tip for Hearing Impaired People is included and discussed, e.g. let your family and friends know that it is best to get your attention before speaking to you by touching the hand, arm or shoulder.

Each exercise is short because we realise that listening for Hearing Impaired People can be tiring. People enjoy belonging to these groups and often strong friendships are formed.