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Guides to listening practice
Why noisy rooms are hard, what the first weeks with a new hearing device are like, and how daily practice helps — for anyone with a cochlear implant or hearing aids, and the people who talk with them.
Start here
What a Listening Check Is, and What It Is Not
Learn what the SoundSteps listening check does, how it differs from a hearing test, and how it leads into short guided listening practice.
Why Can I Hear People Talking but Not Understand the Words?
Hearing speech but missing the words is a clarity problem, not a volume problem. What causes it, why noise makes it worse, and what you can do about it.
How to Hear Better in Restaurants
Practical ways to hear better in restaurants: picking the table, where to sit, hearing device settings that help, and how to practice listening in noise.
How to Practice Hearing at Home
Simple ways to practice hearing at home with or without hearing aids or cochlear implants. Start with short daily exercises that build real listening skills.
Ready to try it?
Start with a short listening check. It finds a good place to begin, then leads into a guided session.
Getting started
8Cochlear Implant Listening Practice at Home: A Calmer Place to StartDoes Brain Training Help Your Hearing?Hearing Aid Listening Practice at Home: Where to StartListening Fitness: Keep Your Listening SharpShort Daily Listening Practice for Real LifeShould You Practice Listening With One Voice or Many?What a Month of Listening Practice Can and Cannot ShowWhy Hearing Practice Should Not Feel Like Homework
Everyday situations
27Can't Hear in Restaurants With Hearing Aids? Here Is WhyDoes Hearing Loss Cause Dementia? What the Research SaysGroup Conversations Are the Hardest. Here Is WhyHearing Aids Not Working? Before You Send Them BackHearing Loss at Work: What Actually HelpsHow to Practice Hearing Different AccentsMy Hearing Test Was Normal, So Why Can't I Hear in Noise?Phone Calls With Hearing Aids or a Cochlear ImplantSmile and Nod: Why We Pretend to HearSpeech in Noise Practice at Home: First Steps That HelpTelling People About Your Hearing Loss: What to SayTired of Asking People to Repeat Themselves?TV Still Hard to Follow With Hearing Aids?Video Calls With Hearing Aids or a Cochlear ImplantWhat Does the Restaurant Program on Hearing Aids Actually Do?Why Are Unfamiliar Accents Harder to Understand?Why Can I Hear in Quiet but Not in Noise?Why Does a Beard Make Lip Reading Harder?Why Hearing Aids End Up in a DrawerWhy Is It Harder to Understand Someone Who Talks Fast?Why Is It So Hard to Hear in Echoey Rooms?Why Is It So Hard to Hear in the Car?Why Is It So Hard to Hear Outside on a Windy Day?Why Is It So Hard to Hear Through a Plexiglass Barrier?Why Is My Hearing Worse in Groups Than One-on-One?Why Listening Makes You So TiredWind Noise and Hearing Aids: Why It Happens, What Helps
Living with a cochlear implant
12Can Cochlear Implant Hearing Improve Years After Surgery?Disappointed With Your Cochlear Implant Results?How Long After Cochlear Implant Activation Until Speech Sounds Normal?How Many Hours a Day Should I Wear My Cochlear Implant?Just Got a Cochlear Implant — What Now?Should You Wait for Better Cochlear Implant Technology?What Does a Cochlear Implant Sound Like?What Does Music Sound Like With a Cochlear Implant?What Happens on Cochlear Implant Activation Day?What Word Scores Can I Expect With a Cochlear Implant?Why Do Some Cochlear Implant Users Do Better Than Others?Why Does My Cochlear Implant Sound Robotic?
New to hearing aids
9A First-Weeks Wearing Schedule for New Hearing AidsCan Your Word Recognition Score Improve?Do Hearing Aids Retrain Your Brain?Getting Used to New Hearing Aids: First-Week PracticeHow Do I Get the Most Out of My New Hearing Aids?Sensory Overload With New Hearing Aids: The First WeeksWhat Is Auditory Deprivation?Why Are My Hearing Aids Loud but Not Clear?Why Does My Own Voice Sound Strange With Hearing Aids?
For family and friends
9Hear What They HearHow Do I Talk to Someone With Hearing Loss?How to Help a Parent Practice HearingHow to Stop Repeating Yourself All DayMy Spouse Hears Me but Doesn't Understand MeWhat Not to Say to Someone With Hearing LossWhen a Parent Won't Practice: Help Without NaggingWhy Does My Husband or Wife Mumble?Why Hearing Loss Makes People Skip Gatherings
Does practice work? The science
26Auditory Processing Disorder in Adults: A Plain-Language GuideAuditory Training for Seniors: Are You Ever Too Old?Can You Do Auditory Training Without Hearing Aids?Can You Do Listening Practice Without an Audiologist?Do Audiobooks Count as Listening Practice?Do Hearing Exercises Actually Work?Does Music Training Help Your Hearing?Does Reading Aloud Help Listening Practice?Erber's Levels of Listening, ExplainedHearing vs. Listening: What Is the Difference?How Long Does Listening Practice Take to Work?How Often Should You Practice Listening?How to Retrain Your Brain to HearNeuroplasticity and Hearing: How the Brain Relearns SoundPassive Listening vs. Active Practice: What's the Difference?What Are Minimal Pairs?What Is a Good Word Recognition Score?What Is a Speech-in-Noise Test?What Is Auditory Discrimination?What Is Auditory Memory?What Is Babble Noise?What Is SNR? Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Hearing, ExplainedWhat Is the Speech Banana?Why Are Children's Voices Harder to Hear?Why Are Consonants Harder to Hear Than Vowels?Why Didn't My Audiologist Mention Auditory Training?
App reviews and comparisons
23Angel Sound Review: Still Worth Using?Auditory Training Apps for Cochlear Implant Users: A Practical ComparisonAuditory Training Apps in Spanish and Other LanguagesBest Auditory Training Apps for Adults, ComparedBest Free Auditory Training Apps: What Is Truly FreeBrainHQ Alternatives for Hearing and ListeningCochlear CoPilot Alternatives for Android and Any Implant BrandDiscontinued Hearing Training ProgramsDo Auditory Training Apps Actually Work?Do Manufacturer Hearing Apps Work With Any Device?eargym Alternatives: Apps Like eargymeargym Review: What It Does Well, Where It Stopseargym vs Hearoes: Which Listening App Fits You?Hear Coach Review: Starkey's Listening App Is GoneHearoes Alternatives for CI UsersHearoes Review: Listening Practice for CI UsersLACE AI Pro Alternatives: What Else Is Out ThereLACE AI Pro Review: What to Know Before You BuyLACE vs clEAR: What Happened to clEARReDi Alternatives: Other Listening Practice AppsWhat Happened to Amptify?Which Listening Practice Apps Still Work?WordSuccess Alternatives: Apps for More Than Words
Ready to try it?
Start with a short listening check. It finds a good place to begin, then leads into a guided session.