Lipreading Online Resources

Lipreading is when we take information from the shape of a speaker's mouth as they talk, and use it to work out what words they just said. Our brain has to work hard to understand speech, but when you are missing sounds, it is constantly having to backfill information, which is why those with severe hearing loss are tired out by long meetings.

Certain words, such as two and three, can sound incredibly similar to those with high-frequency hearing loss. Learning the different shapes the mouth makes for "to" and "th" fill in the gaps, leading to fewer words misheard during conversation. And don't get me started on C,D,E,B,V,G etc etc. An absolute minefield on the phone!

As our hearing gets worse, we tend to pick up lipreading skills along the way. During the COVID pandemic, many new patients came for hearing tests when they found everyone's mouths were covered by masks. Suddenly, without access to the lip shape, they realised they had a problem.

There is always room for improvement, as with most things. You can learn lipreading. Although lipreading classes were one of the many casualties of council austerity, we are very fortunate to have a free online resource.

Visit www.lipreadingpractice.co.uk to find a whole programme of lipreading classes. You can learn as little or as much as you like, in your own time.