Brain Exercises Could Help You Hear in Noise

Whether or not you are able to make a habit out of regular exercise in your daily life, most people understand that it helps to keep our entire health system strong from our muscles and our heart. However, did you know your brain needs exercise too? What is good for the heart is good for the brain, as it supplies healthy oxygenated blood to the brain, keeping it sharp and brain tissue and cells fortified.

However, beyond physical activity your brain requires regular flexing in order to stay at its peak—especially as we age. Many are surprised to find that the peak of our cognitive health begins to decline as early as our mid 40s! However, when we are socially and mentally engaged it keeps our brain working at its optimal health for years to come.

The Effects of Hearing Loss on Cognitive Health

Hearing loss is one of the most common health conditions affecting older adults in the United States. One in three over the age of 65 have hearing loss and by the time people reach 75 years and older, around half have a hearing impairment. For those affected you may note that one of the largest hurdles with hearing loss occurs when other noises are present. 

Have you ever struggled to pick out speech in a noisy room full of competing conversations? This can be a challenge for anyone, but for people with hearing loss it is a noted hurdle to address. Even for those already using hearing aids and assistive listening devices, it takes extra focus to prioritize the conversation you want to hear in a noisy place.

Brain Exercises for Speech Perception

The good news is that researchers have identified that brain exercises may increase our capacity to hear in noisy environments, making speech perception easier. While exercises won’t bring back damaged hearing, what they can do is train the brain to home in on desired sounds, allowing more ease as our cognitive function hunts for significant noises. With hearing aids these, brain exercises may increase our ability to access new social situations with added confidence.

Exercises for Hearing in Noise

Hearing aids are essential for increasing our ability to hear in noise, by lessening the load on our cognitive abilities. We are no longer tasked with having to fill in missing tones and pitches, giving us more ease in comprehension. However, just because you can hear the sounds doesn’t mean your brain can immediately comprehend them. It takes practice for your mind to re-learn essentially how to hear these lost sounds again.

Sometimes the most effective way to exercise is by playing. New research shows that brain training can have a significant impact on these sorts of nuanced hearing skills. In fact, A team at Harvard reports notable improvements to hearing ability when a sound-focused brain training game is employed with focus. The game was designed to aid users with hearing loss to improve their spatial sense of sound. The virtual game tasks users with completing a puzzle by locating sound sources from a tablet screen. The researchers reported that even after a short period of playing the puzzle game, there was 25% improvement in the subject’s abilities to detect speech in noise. The success of the game to sharpen the listening skills of the users demonstrates the importance of practicing hearing in regaining important listening skills.

Brain Games!

Often the most effective way to exercise regularly is to integrate it into your everyday life. For instance, people who bike to work get exercise every day without having to feel like they are taking time to stay in shape. Similarly, a game which is enjoyable may not feel like a chore, meaning you are more likely to do this. Now due to the wide access of smartphones in our daily life, millions enjoy brain strengthening exercises from the comfort of their own home.

• The i-Angel Sound app is a free hearing and brain exercise application.
• The Auditory Verbal app features an appealing design with multi-tiered sound recognition training. 
• The clEARWorks auditory exercise program offers audiologist support with the purchase of a subscription. 
• Listening and Communication Enhancement (LACE,) is a computer program designed for enhancing user’s ability to hear in noisy, busy, and difficult situations. 

To find out more about what apps and games are available to enhance your hearing don’t hesitate to contact us today. We can test your hearing and come up with so many solutions to support your everyday hearing.‍