AUDIOBOOK FOR HEARING LOSS There is a growing consensus that hearing loss (HL) cannot be addressed with hearing aids (HAs) or cochlear implants (CIs) alone: auditory training is also needed. While face-to-face auditory training is available, this intervention is generally not covered by insurance plans. Auditory training Apps have become available to fill this need in a cost-effective manner. Unfortunately, evidence for the efficacy of these products is weak; a recent large-scale randomized controlled trial found no effect on a wide range of outcome measures. A likely suspect for these results is that most aural rehab Apps are repetitive, even with gamification and rewards. A popular method used by individuals with HL to improve their listening skills is listening to audiobooks. Audiobooks have the strong advantage over many aural rehab Apps of being intrinsically motivating. However, existing audiobooks do not adequately accommodate individuals with more severe levels of HL unless they are fundamentally re-thought. The goal of the proposed project is to create an Audiobook for Hearing Loss App ? an audiobook App that has a wide array of user-selectable features designed to provide auditory training: Help individuals with recent CIs/HAs through the difficult initial adjustment process, and help with transitioning at one's own pace toward the goal of understanding ?habitual speech? (speech spoken without special effort to be intelligible). Even if not used for auditory training, this app would provide access to audiobooks where standard audiobooks fail. Thus, the App serves both auditory training and accessibility. Proposed features include enhanced (?clear?) speech modes, visual support by simultaneous display of text and a talking face, and other features that can be enabled or disabled to serve the user's unique needs.
The proposed project's goal is to create an audiobook app for individuals with hearing loss with enhanced audio and visual features to support listening, serving to provide auditory training for individuals who want to improve their hearing skills as well provide access to audiobooks for individuals whose hearing ability preludes listening to standard audiobooks.
