Speech reading (or lip-reading, as it is commonly known) refers to understanding of speech through the visual modality. To enable speech comprehension, a person has to not only observe the movement of lips and tongue but also recognize gestural cues, facial expressions, body postures and environmental cues.

Speech reading cannot be used as a substitute for auditory information. Majority of speech sounds are not visible and persons with hearing impairment may miss out on some information through the auditory modality also. However, with realistic expectations and speech reading instructions, persons with HI can derive significant benefits this technique.

We provide speech reading instructions to persons with HI who get very little benefit from amplification.