Benefits of lipreading

What proportion of sounds can be seen clearly on the lips? Only about 30% so how on earth do people lipread?! Well it’s a clever mix of looking at the lips, jaw, eyes, facial expressions and body language, alongside the memory of sounds (for those who lose their hearing, rather than having hearing loss from birth) and any residual hearing that people have (although some people may have no residual hearing) and also the brain links things up and makes the connections – sometimes correctly, sometimes not! e.g. “Would you like some Fish and Chips? And not Fish and Ships”!

Lipreading is a great skill to learn and classes can be fun as you are surrounded by people experiencing similar issues and challenges.  The benefits are that it improves confidence when communicating, helps to develop mental linking and anticipation skills, improves memory and explains clearly why some words are tricky to lipread.

if you are interested in finding out more – have a look at the CELST website and register to join a lipreading class, either face to face or online as soon as places are available.

The following website is also worth a look: https://lipreadingpractice.co.uk/.