How to train your ears to hear better

All of us could benefit from better hearing care. When was the last time you found yourself asking someone to repeat themselves multiple times? Or has it become so often that you and your loved ones don’t even notice it anymore?

In our busy lives, regular trips to the audiologist for a little bit of hearing difficulty can feel unnecessary, meaning we’re often left to watch our hearing slowly decline over the years.

However, good hearing doesn’t have to be hard. You could be improving your hearing skills, all from your smartphone with a pair of headphones. But how? How to train your ears to hear better with an app? We'll tell you...

Very important disclaimer: this information is designed for people looking to improve their hearing skills and protect their hearing health with good practices throughout life. If you are experiencing significant or sudden hearing loss, please speak to a medical professional.

Can you train your ears to hear better?

The first thing to clear up is yes - you definitely can train your ears to hear better. With small amounts of consistent effort, you can boost your hearing skills in as little as four weeks. Before long, you’ll begin to notice the difference - whether that’s improved attention, better performance at work, or enhanced social interactions.

So... here's how to train your ears to hear better:

Use our app!

eargym’s immersive auditory training involves completing fun, expert-designed exercises designed to target specific aspects of hearing - including pitch recognition and auditory localisation (working out where sounds are coming from).

The eargym app allows us to complete auditory training from the comfort of our own homes with just a smartphone and a pair of headphones. This means we really have no excuses when it comes to improving our hearing health.

Who can benefit from auditory training?

We really mean it when we say that hearing training is for everyone - whether you’re beginning to notice your hearing isn’t what it used to be, or you simply want to protect it now and do your future self a favour.

In fact, the World Health Organisation estimates that around 1.1 billion young people are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss, meaning pretty much all of us could do with protecting our hearing health a little bit more.

However, there are a couple of times when training your ears to hear better might be extra

important.

Hearing training might be for you if you:

● Struggle to follow conversations in a busy room;

● Have difficulty understanding what someone’s saying when talking one-on-one;

● Feel like your hearing impacts your productivity or well-being at work;

● Often struggle to listen and pay attention for long periods at a time;

● Worry your social interactions are being impacted by your hearing;

...or simply if you’ve just noticed a general decline in your hearing (or your friends and family have).

If this is sounding all too familiar, then download eargym now for iOS and Android.

What are the benefits of auditory training?

We've told you how to train your ears to hear better, but what are the benfits? You might think the benefits of training your ears are pretty self-explanatory. You can hear better, right?

Well, yes. But there are also a whole wealth of other benefits to training your ears to hear better. These include:

• Increased cognitive function - even mild hearing loss doubles your risk of developing dementia;

• Better safety - since we’re better equipped to detect where potential dangers are coming from;

• Improved work productivity - hearing loss costs the UK £25 billion in lost productivity and early retirement each year;

• Improved relationships - through being better at listening to others and maintaining meaningful conversations, which can therefore improve mental health;

• A more even playing field - people with hearing loss earn an average of £2k less than their peers.

How to train your ears to hear better

Traditionally, if you were wondering how to train your ears to hear better, you needed a trip to the audiologist, to diagnose exactly what hearing difficulties you had and how these could be improved.

Of course, doctors and audiologists still have their place - if you’re having sudden or severe problems with your hearing, medical help should always be the first port of call.

But eargym gives you access to resources and advice that have been developed in partnership with audiologists and experts on hearing health - all from your phone. Developed in conjunction with academic experts and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, the app allows you to safely and gradually improve your hearing from home.

How to improve your hearing at home

Improving your hearing skills at home really couldn’t be simpler or more accessible.

Through the eargym app, you can test your hearing in a matter of minutes. This gives you a score against different measures of hearing skills. Once you’ve got this information, you’re directed to the games and exercises that will make the biggest difference to your hearing.

These enjoyable, at-home hearing exercises will encourage you to look after your hearing and improve your listening skills. With just a few minutes of gameplay each day, you can make tangible improvements to your hearing in just four weeks.

So it's simple really - there’s no better time to start caring for your hearing than now. Whether you’re looking to make noticeable improvements to your hearing, or just future-proof your ear health for years to come, eargym can make that happen.

Download eargym for free today on iOS and Android, and begin to see improvements in as little as four weeks.