Julie loves blockbuster movies – not only because they were blockbuster Hollywood movies, but because they played a valuable role in her solo hearing therapy, which has helped the 49-year-old learn to listen again after she received her Cochlear™ Nucleus® 7 Sound Processors.
Creative hearing therapy options for single people
“I’m single and live alone, but I found 90% of the retraining materials revolved around having someone else to help. I don’t have that luxury. But living alone doesn’t mean we can’t be creative,” says Julie, who came up with other “ways to train”.
“About two weeks before my surgery, I bought an iPod®1 that had enough memory for me to load it with digital movies, music, audio books, and any other therapy programs I could find. I refer to the iPod as my therapy device,” she says.
“In the beginning, several hours of direct streaming was key for me. The first time I watched the movie with the subtitles, but after that I tried to just listen to the movie.
“By the end of the week, I was hearing the actors’ voices in some scenes, while still hearing the ‘chipmunk’ voices in others. This showed me repetition really was key – the repetition in lines, and how they are said, really helps.”
Julie challenged herself by picking different movies and also used Angel Sound™, the interactive auditory training program, for 30 minutes each day.
Fun hearing therapy for second implant
After her second implant in 2020, voices sounded robotic at first, so Julie got to work.
“After a few weeks, I just did the dual-sided training, listening to any book, music or movie for multiple hours every day. I still do daily brain training that consists of direct streaming.”
Julie still loves and continues to use direct streaming: “The TV streamer is my number one accessory. When I get home from work, I stream the news while I cook dinner in a different room.”
Another resource for solo hearing therapy is the new Cochlear™ CoPilot app. Designed for iPhone®, Cochlear CoPilot is free, convenient and you can use it at your own pace.
Download Cochlear CoPilot from the Apple® App store today!
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