Did You Know?

What is Listening Fatigue?

Listening fatigue is the result of expending a lot of cognitive resources in an effort to listen (listening effort) which depletes the amount of energy left for other cognitive functions. Students with a hearing loss take in limited or incomplete sounds, which they then have to decipher in a short amount of time. Speech comprehension becomes a problem-solving workout which takes a lot of concentration. Students are doing this all day long and thus suffer from listening fatigue. “Those with hearing loss are provided with context and a few sounds and letters, but more often than not they then have to fill in the blanks to decode what’s being said. Speech comprehension, which is intended to be natural, comes to be a problem-solving exercise demanding deep concentration.

For example: C n ou r ad t is s nt e ce?

You probably worked out that the arbitrary assortment of letters above spells “Can you read this sentence?” But you also probably had to stop and think about it, filling in the blanks. Imagine having to read this entire article this way and you’ll have an understanding for the listening demands placed on those with hearing loss.”

Tips to Help Reduce Listening Fatigue

1. Take listening breaks throughout the school day. Sit in a quiet area and just let yourself relax without listening to what is going on around you.

2. Limit interruptions and background noise that can make hearing hard.

3. Try using hearing assistive technology to amplify sound to see if that reduces the amount of listening effort being used.

4. Read instead of watching TV or a video to give your ears a break from listening.

Parent Resources

Hands and Voices has some fun upcoming events. Check them out in the activities section below and register if interested. Also check out the Hands and voices parent newsletter at https://www.mnhandsandvoices.org/news-events/focus-newsletter

Upcoming Activities