7 Tips For Practicing Listening On Your Way To Work

Each morning, people around the world make their way to work. Whether by train, car, bus, or simply by foot, your daily commute can take up a large part of the day. But if you have a hearing implant, the journey to work is the perfect time to practice your listening skills!

Here are seven ideas for how to practice your listening on the way to work.

If you take public transport to work, pay special attention to the loudspeaker announcements. Listen for the next stations and find them on the transport map.
Audio books. Listen to your favorite books in audio format. As the story will be familiar to you, it will be easier to follow along. Rewind and replay any parts you don’t understand, if you need to.
If you travel by car, turn on the radio and try to follow the weather forecasts. The forecasts contain familiar and predictable information such as the names of places, and weather vocabulary (rain, sun, storms), so will be easier to understand. You will be able to guess some of the words if you don’t completely recognize them from the context.
Inside sounds. On the train, pay attention to the sounds in your carriage, such as people having a conversation or the drinks cart coming down the aisle. Think about where the sound is coming from and check to see if you can find the source.
Outside sounds. Alternatively if you walk to work, listen to the sounds of cars, birds chirping, snow crunching, cyclists, and puddles splashing. Try to figure out exactly where these sounds are coming from. But remember to pay close attention to the traffic while you are listening!
Connect your hearing implants to your personal music device, and listen as you travel. Play familiar albums or music playlists and try to recognize the songs. You could also read the lyrics to the songs as you listen, or hum along with the rhythm.
Having a passenger in the car while you drive to work is a great way to practice your conversation skills. You could also try having the radio on at low volume in the background—the added background noise will make the listening environment a little more challenging.