In noisy environments, most people intuitively begin to read lips when hearing is no longer an option. The book shows how multi-sensory integration, between vision and hearing, is crucial in everyday communication. The brain automatically combines visual lip movements with auditory speech to create a coherent response.
Lip-reading is especially important for people who are hard of hearing or in loud environments. From a young age, most children begin to recognize the lip patterns of familiar words. Most deaf children naturally try to lip-read when they are communicating. Some deaf children are naturally better at lip-reading than others (NDCS, 2025). Also, children will find it easier to lip-read if they are familiar with the topic. Lip-reading takes a lot of concentration, and practicing this concept for extended periods of time is likely to cause concentration fatigue and will result in regular breaks.
References
National Deaf Children’s Society. (2025). Lip‑reading. In Language and communication.
https://www.ndcs.org.uk/advice-and-support/language-and-communication/lip-reading
Rosenblum, L. D. (2010). See what I’m saying: The extraordinary powers of our five senses (1st ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.
Hi Daniella, I found it really interesting how our brains are able to start lip-reading when faced with noisy situations. I never realize how much effort and concentration it actually takes, especially for kids who are deaf or hard of hearing.
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