Auditory Training
&
Aural Rehab
Treatments

Auditory Training is listening therapy and its purpose is to help correct listening errors when listening to speech, especially in background noise. Our office is one of the few in the state that conducts specialized auditory training therapy. 

Who Is Auditory Training For?

Auditory Training sessions are for people with a known auditory processing disorder or a significant hearing loss. We work with children and adults who don't wear hearing devices and those who do use hearing devices, including cochlear implants.

Why Is This Different?

Most commercially available programs provide practice related to general auditory processing skills, whereas our auditory training treatment targets the specific areas of weakness identified with APD pre-testing. This program relies on the anatomy and physiology of the central auditory nervous system regions. We identify the patient’s specific deficits which are associated with specific communication difficulties.

For a trained doctor of audiology (Au.D.) an Auditory Processing Disorder is not very difficult to identify, classify, or even to remediate. It is estimated that 20 percent of the general population has APD. We've found that many of our patients who have a diagnosed hearing loss are also struggling with difficulties with speech understanding and our auditory training therapy program can be tailored to their special hearing needs. The therapy associated with this model works directly on those areas found to be related to the diagnosed APD categories. Therefore, it is a deficit specific therapy, which allows extensive training in the patient’s weak areas. Most commercially available programs only provide practice related to general auditory processing skills. Working one-to-one with a professional on auditory training can develop the skills and strategies specific to the patient’s deficit.

Individual Audiological Rehabilitation
(offered in the office or via Zoom)

Level 1:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
3 sessions.
Learn the basics about proper care and use of your devices
Learn and practice Strategies to hear best in Quiet and Noise
Learn basic lipreading skills
Specialized discussion of strategies for your individual needs

Level 2:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
6 sessions.
Practice Phonemic Identification, Phonemic Synthesis Training, Words in Noise Training, and Short Term Auditory Working Memory Training
Pre- and Post- Self-Assessments in addition to testing in quiet and noise in the sound booth.

Level 3:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
6 sessions.
Practice Phonemic Identification, Phonemic Synthesis Training, Words in Noise Training, and Short Term Auditory Working Memory Training
Pre- and Post- Self-Assessments in addition to testing in quiet and noise in the sound booth.

Group Audiological Rehabilitation
LIVE in the Classroom

Level 1:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
3 sessions.
Learn the basics about proper care and use of your devices
Learn and practice Strategies to hear best in Quiet and Noise
Learn basic lipreading skills
Collaborate with others on how to best navigate this noisy world.

Level 2:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
6 sessions.
Practice Phonemic Identification, Phonemic Synthesis Training, Words in Noise Training, and Short Term Auditory Working Memory Training
Pre- and Post- Self-Assessments in addition to testing in quiet and noise in the sound booth.

Level 3:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
6 sessions.
Practice Phonemic Identification, Phonemic Synthesis Training, Words in Noise Training, and Short Term Auditory Working Memory Training
Pre- and Post- Self-Assessments in addition to testing in quiet and noise in the sound booth.

Group Audiological Rehabilitation
LIVE via Zoom

Level 1:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
3 sessions.
Learn the basics about proper care and use of your devices
Learn and practice Strategies to hear best in Quiet and Noise
Learn basic lipreading skills
Collaborate with others on how to best navigate this noisy world.

Level 2:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
6 sessions.
Practice Phonemic Identification, Phonemic Synthesis Training, Words in Noise Training, and Short Term Auditory Working Memory Training
Pre- and Post- Self-Assessments in addition to testing in quiet and noise in the sound booth.

Level 3:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
6 sessions.
Practice Phonemic Identification, Phonemic Synthesis Training, Words in Noise Training, and Short Term Auditory Working Memory Training
Pre- and Post- Self-Assessments in addition to testing in quiet and noise in the sound booth.

DIY Audiological Rehabilitation

Start with Online Aural Rehab:

Once a week for approximately 10 minutes.
5 Modules
Learn the basics about proper care and use of your devices
Learn and practice Strategies to hear best in Quiet and Noise
Learn basic lipreading skills
Practice Easy and Difficult Listening Exercises

Move into Online Auditory Training:

Once a week for 50 minutes.
12 sessions.
Practice Phonemic Identification, Phonemic Synthesis Training, Words in Noise Training, and Short Term Auditory Working Memory Training
Pre- and Post- Self-Assessments in addition to testing in quiet and noise in the sound booth.

Dr. Dawn Heiman is an Illinois licensed audiologist who has been practicing for over 22 years and has been working with patients who have varying degrees of auditory processing disorders since her Fellowship Year in Cherry Hill, NJ in 1999.

Dr. Dawn Heiman attained her Clinical Doctorate in Audiology (AuD) from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, School of Audiology.  She obtained Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her Master of Science degree in Audiology from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Heiman is President-Elect for the Academy of Doctors of Audiology and Fellow member of the American Academy of Audiology and the Illinois Academy of Audiology.