Voice inflections mean something….By Dr. Richard Reikowski,. Au.D Family Hearing and Balance Center

Talking with patients can become such wonderful teaching moments for the patient, as well as, quite often, for myself.  I had a conversation with a man who is in police work and he shared how his hearing is so important to him. He went on to share that in much of what he listens to, he pays special attention to the “inflection” of the voice. He has become quite astute in listening to vocal tone and the voice, as it shares much of the message. For instance, while listening over a police radio, he described much of it as “speech chatter” that blends much of the dialogue together, but often catches the special cues in the speech. He shared his perspectives that the brain picks up certain characteristics of speech that “means something” and is quite important. I agree….

Chatting with this patient certainly made me appreciate the “always on time” that officers and the law enforcement live in. This also goes for fire and emergency men and women. Their listening is both passive in listening to various sounds, and active listening of direct attention and focus to a sound and speech. Thus, hearing is not only important, but life saving to those they  may serve in their daily work. It’s a pleasure and honor to be a part of helping people to hear.