Being able to lip-read better can make a huge difference to the hard of hearing. | Image: Pro Audito Schweiz

Hearing impairments make having a social life more difficult. It also means you’re more likely to develop depression and dementia in old age. And when there’s a lot of background noise, even a hearing aid is of little use. But lip-reading skills can help. After just eight online lessons, people who are hard of hearing understood up to 25 percent more. “This makes a huge difference for those affected”, says Nathalie Giroud, a neuropsychologist at the University of Zurich.

R. Schmitt et al.: Improvements in naturalistic speech-in-noise comprehension in middle-aged and older adults after 3 weeks of computerbased speechreading training. NPJ Science of Learning (2023)

CC BY-NC-ND