Recently I was reminded of the importance of lip-reading when trying to understand speech.
My husband, a substitute teacher for elementary school, shared with me a video designed to help kids learn long vowels with a silent “e.” Interestingly, the Video includes how lips look when pronouncing words with and without the “e” at the end. I provide a link and embed of the Video below.
What is lip-reading?
Lip-reading is defined By Wikipedia:
“… a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face, and tongue when normal sound is not available.”
While Wikipedia’s definition is adequate, it isn’t complete. Only 7% of communication is achieved through words. The other 93% is achieved through body language, lips, facial expressions, voice, and tonality. We all read lips whether we are aware of it or not. The long vowel training video for the kids is proof of this!
Communicating with someone hard of hearing
The Cleveland Clinic has a helpful article titled “How can I better communicate with someone with a hearing loss? Below is the list; details for each tip are within the full article. Bolded items are important because they involve the ability for the hearing impaired to read lips:
Gain attention.
Maintain eye contact.
Keep hands away from the face.
Speak naturally.
Rephrase rather than repeat.
Talk away from background noise.
Good lighting is important.
It is important to note that the lips are a part of the communication equation. If relying solely on the lips, even the most skilled lip readers can only comprehend 40% of a conversation. However, lips, in combination with the body, face, and eyes, help to connect the dots and make speech comprehension possible.
The lip-reading Video
Here is the Video of the lips demonstrating how different they look when pronouncing words with and without that silent “e.”
