Writer and speaker Gael Hannan is my hearing loss community hero. She is wise, informative, and witty on her blog, the Hearing Loss Consumer. That is why I am thrilled to be Gael’s guest writer this week on her blog. Below is a sneak peek of the article. The link to continue reading on the Hearing Loss Consumer blog follows.
Speechreading Tips from a Lipreading Mom
A couple of years ago, I launched Lipreading Mom Communications to teach individuals with hearing loss how to speechread. Here are a few interesting facts about speechreading:
– Thirty to forty percent of spoken language is visible on the mouth area (lips, tongue, teeth, jaw, and chin).
– The easiest consonant sounds to distinguish are B, F, L, M, P, TH, and V. The lips visibly press together for B, P, M. Letters F and V involve the top front teeth biting the lower lip. For L and TH, the mouth opens and the tongue thrusts out slightly between the teeth.
– O and OO (as in ‘cool’) are the most visible vowel sounds on the mouth. The lips pucker and have a small round opening.
– Speechreading also involves watching the speaker’s facial expressions and body language to determine context and emotion.
Aids to Speechreading
It is important to note that speechreading is an acquired skill that may take months to perfect. In my classes, the following things are essential to mastering the skill…
Continue Reading Here:
http://hearinghealthmatters.org/betterhearingconsumer/2014/speechreading-tips-lipreading-mom/#comment-18394
Lipreading Mom 