Back by popular demand, Lipreading (speechreading) Classes returned to the Jewish Community in Los Gatos on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. There was also a new class offered at the Saratoga Senior Center beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The classes are open to all adults whether or not hearing aids are worn, and whether or not a hearing loss is present. ***The Winter Quarter has just begun and there is still time for some new students. However, as they are ongoing classes, most of the students have already had several classes and if someone wants to begin at the beginning so to speak, they probably should wait until the Fall Quarter 2017. Having said that, people will not be turned down so if they want to join classes in progress.***
The goal of the classes is to improve students’ ability to understand speech, especially in group and/or noisy listening environments. Techniques for identifying individual sounds as well as methods to improve the listening experience in general will be presented. In addition to learning specific speechreading techniques, interpretation of students’ audiograms, maximizing hearing aid performance, brief anatomy and physiology of hearing, prevention of hearing loss and preservation of hearing are among the topics discussed.
Three levels of classes are being offered: Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced. All 3 levels of Lipreading Class are available at the Jewish Community but as the Saratoga Senior Center class is new, only the Beginning Level is available. The classes are being offered through Foothill College; however, there is no fee for these non-credit classes. Each session is 12 weeks long and consists of weekly 2 hour classes.
For additional information call: JCC: 408-357-7492; SSC: 408-868-1254, or the instructor: Marcia Fariss, M. A., F-AAA: 669-444-0LIP. You may also reference her web page: www.gizmology.com/hear. Pre-registration is advised; forms may be obtained by contacting Foothill College: 650-949-7103. However, registration is also available at the first class meeting.