For over 30 years in the professional field of blindness, I learned the process for measuring one’s ability to see in their peripheral fields or their near or distant straight ahead in their central field of vision. The term, given for diagnosing these conditions, is called visual Acuities. The two main tests that are used for measuring acuities in these two areas are the Amsler Grid, and the Snelling Chart. The Amsler Grid maps out a person’s central restrictions from Scotomas, otherwise known as blind spots, preventing a person from seeing straight ahead. This condition is commonly found in an eye condition called Macular Degeneration. The Snelling Chart is used to measure how far away a person can see without corrected eyesight, “uncorrected,” or with glasses, “with correction.” 

 

For many years, I wondered why there wasn’t a term like “visual Acuities” in the listening area like a measurement that could test a person’s ability to hear with quality. There is the general test where loud, soft, high or low pitches are tested but not the quality of how one hears sounds. Thus the reason for my book! 

 

In my book, I have coined the term “Listening Acuity.” This is not just the ability to hear a noise, it is going quite farther than that. It is identifying sound in many characteristics: to help one visualize their environment, to assess danger, play elite sports, cook, baby set, or travel safely, just to name a few. When one hears a sound, do they hear it enough to identify what it is? where it is located with pretty good accuracy? can they tell how far away it is? Can they tell whether it is moving or not? Does it sound like something is between them and the sound? Can they use that sound to travel straight. And many other unique conditional abilities. I talk about in my book how good listening skills coupled with listening memory and common sense gives a nonvisual person remarkable traveling abilities.

 

I wrote about a variety of my personal life experiences that explains 15 different sound patterns and the conditions where they can occur. I also, talk about how those conditions would help or hinder my perceiving my environment.

 

The name of my book is called “Take A Look At What I Hear.” You can find the print copy on Amazon under my full name of Ronald L Worley Jr. I am still working on putting the book on Book Share and the Talking Books National Library service for the Blind. You can request an audio version from my web site called 

Https://listeningacuity.com

That I put together myself. Navigate to the from Ron Worley link and you can find the link there to Amazon or you can use the contact us link to send me a request of an audio version. Give me a few days to respond. 

 

I used a real human sounding voice from 

https://ElevenLabs.io

To produce my audio version. The versions that you might find on Book-Share or Talking Books will obviously be in different voices.

 

At the end of my book there are fun exercises that can be practiced to improve these listening abilities as well as a glossary of hearing terms and their definitions that VRT’s can use with their students. The book is laid out like a text book but uses many examples and life experiences to give it an interesting read.

 

Ron