Introduction to Lipreading

Previously we looked at the anatomy and function of the ear – essential knowledge to help you understand the types and causes of hearing loss.

This slideshow from week 8 of the lipreading course summarises the main types of hearing loss:

 This video from the RNID explains more about hearing loss – in particular sensorineural hearing loss.

Causes of hearing loss from RNID on Vimeo.

A quiz to check your understanding of which words look the same when lipreading – and which look different:

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=match-words-odd-one-out-1

Here is an excellent YouTube video (with captions) from ExpertVillage explaining what happens during basic hearing tests – note that in the UK the test may involve over-the-ear headphones rather than in-the-ear.

During a hearing test, an audiogram is produced which records your hearing – this is basically a graph measuring loudness and frequency.

The slideshow below introduces audiograms and shows how your audiogram indicates which speech sounds you may find difficult to hear.

Most people change their mobile phone – and newer phones have more features that can be useful for hard-of-hearing and deaf people,  especially SMARTphones.

Here are some tips on recycling your old mobile phone:

We have discussed the 12 consonant visemes in lipreading but can you recognise them from their pictures?

Have a go at the quiz below to see if you can identify all 12 visemes correctly:

• Open quiz at Proprofs website: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=discrimination-test-consonant-visemes

Using the telephone effectively can be difficult if you have a hearing loss. The slideshow below provides an overview of some of the available solutions:

Remember, old / unwanted / broken telephones should be taken to a Council dumpit site and disposed of in the appropriate recycle bin

Electrical and electronic goods should not be disposed of along with normal household waste.

Using a mobile phone if you have a hearing loss can be difficult. Here is a summary of a few adaptations that are available:

Previously we looked at the viseme p/b/m

Sometimes the shape we see is modified by another letter, for example if we add an ‘r’ like in:

pray

 Can you see a difference between:

 pay  /   pray

 or:

boil  / broil

Other ways in which this shape can be modified include:

• Adding ‘s’ – spay
• Adding ‘s’ and ‘r’ – spray
• Adding ‘l’ – plant

Watch again: lipreading practice associated with booking into a hotel. A series of 10 questions and responses. Use the arrow and CC to turn the subtitles on/off:

The sounds ‘p’ ‘b’ and ‘m’ share a viseme – they all have the same lipshape/facial movements.

Because of they share a viseme, they are known as homophenes – a homophene is a sound that shares a viseme with another sound.

• p/b/m is an easy viseme to see – it is visible on most speakers, even those who don’t move their mouths much when speaking.
• p/b/m is a common visible viseme – it is found in approximately 54% of English words.
• /p/ is the most common, followed by /m/, then /b/.

 Can you give me an example of 3 words that would look similar because of the potential for p/b/m becoming confused?

For example: pat / bat / mat

Examples you might have thought of ….

Read the rest of this entry »