CASE STUDY: Speech Therapy program for an Adult with Hearing Loss

A number of our clients with hearing loss have expressed that, before attending sessions, the role of speech pathology for people with hearing loss often feels quite mysterious.

Claire attended an initial assessment with a Speechaus clinician following a recommendation from her audiologist. The session was conducted online, so Claire could connect her hearing aids to her computer audio and activate captions in the video call. Claire explained that she wasn’t sure what a speech pathologist could do for her, especially considering she couldn’t hear the features of her voice, which led her audiologist to make the referral.

Following a case history discussion and some assessment tasks, Claire’s speech pathologist shared information about Claire’s speech sounds and voice tone, taking the time to explain what these mean, how they are related to her hearing loss and how these contribute to the situations Claire had described people not understanding her speech. Next, the discussion shifted to the types of therapy recommended for Claire and whether these matched Claire’s personal and professional goals. Claire’s clinician took notes on the screen and drew diagrams to make the information more accessible. Claire decided she was interested in pursuing therapy, so her clinician booked weekly sessions for her.

In Claire’s first treatment, her clinician described the recommended action plan to address her goals in an order that would promote the best outcomes; in Claire’s case, starting with voice therapy and then moving on to speech-sound targets was most advisable, and her clinician explained the reasons behind this. Claire was happy with this plan, and in that same session, she began learning some vocal exercises.
Claire’s clinician gave instructions based on physical sensations that Claire could use to feel whether she was completing the exercises correctly. Claire found this extremely helpful because it allowed her to focus on the vibratory sensations to aim for.

Claire reported feeling pleased that she had followed her audiologist’s recommendations to access speech pathology services and feels her understanding and confidence increases with each session.

Thanks to her voice therapy sessions and home practice, she now notices that her voice doesn’t wear out on work days like it used to, she can project better in business meetings, and listeners don’t ask her to repeat herself as much as before.

If you, like Claire, are unsure if and how speech pathology can help you work towards your goals, an assessment session with one of our skilled clinicians is the best way to open up the conversation, gain insights into your communication challenges and discover whether this branch of healthcare is right for you.