Improving Speech With Forbrain - Review
It is really amazing how your hearing affects so much of your life. How we hear ourselves has a huge impact on how well we can memorize passages, pronounce words properly, sing and largely affects our self-confidence.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this product for review, all opinions are 100% my own.
Some of my children have difficulty hearing phonic sounds and are distracted very easily. When I heard about the bone conduction headset from Forbrain - Sound For Life LTD I couldn't wait to see if it would help!
Our headset arrived very quickly by courier and I was so impressed with the packaging. The headset comes inside a hard storage case that has a zippered closure. The case is filled with some padding on the inside that snugly fits the headset. There is also storage for the charging cord and manual.
In a hury? You can get Forbrain headsets here.
The bone conduction headset kit includes:
Forbrain headset
Hard shell storage case
USB charging cable
3 spare microphone covers
User manual
Quick start guide
When I opened our headset it needed to be charged before use. The kit includes a USB to micro-USB charging cord. I simply connected the headset to my laptop and left it to charge until it was ready to use.
There is a small light that indicates when the headset is fully charged. The light is red it's charging and when it's blue it is fully charged. The battery lasts for 6 hours of use.
Using Forbrain is very easy!
This headset is worn a little differently from the type you use to listen to music with. You will naturally want to place the round circles in your ears but, that is not how you wear Forbrain.
Forbrain is a bone-conducting headset that means as you speak into the microphone your voice is transmitted through the bones just in front of your ears.
Bone conduction transmits the sound of your voice 10 times faster than audio. The headset has a dynamic filter that works to enhance your voice and help you hear yourself very clearly.
To wear the headset you simply place it behind your head and loop it over your ears. Position the round pads so they sit just in front of your ears resting on the bone. This allows it to send the sound vibrations.
There are 3 buttons on the headset so it's very simple to use. There is an on/off button and a volume up and down button. The volume is pre-set to the optimum level and the manual recommends you don't change it unless you find it uncomfortable.
After our headset was charged and ready to use I was so excited I had to try it out before letting my kids near it.
When I put it on I couldn't believe how clearly I could hear myself talking! It was like having the best sound system you could think of right inside your head. Really cool!
I also had my hubby try the headset out and I couldn't believe the look on his face when he tried it. His eyes were wide and he was so excited. He could really HEAR what he was saying so well.
See he has some minor hearing problems from working in loud factories years ago. So he often talks very loud and miss hears what people say.
After we had tested out the headset our children were eager to use it too!
I started off using it with my daughter who is 8 years old. She really struggles with hearing and blending phonic sounds. Since she was very little she has had just a slight lisp when she pronounces certain words and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with how she hears sounds. It was for my daughter that I was most excited to try Forbrain.
We've been using the Forbrain headset with her for 15 minutes each day. Sometimes we use it during our reading lessons, and other days while practicing math facts.
Often we will use it while singing or telling stories. The important thing is that the bone conduction headset is worn while you are talking aloud. It isn't going to help if you're wearing it while you read to yourself silently because it uses your own voice to train your hearing.
She has just been loving wearing the headset and would wear it all day if she could! At her age, the manual says to only use it for 15 minutes a day so that is what we stick to.
I've found it's really been helping her to focus better on our lessons. Really it is very hard to get distracted when you are hearing your own voice so clearly!
I've also been using the headset with my 7-year-old son. With him, we mostly use it during his phonic lessons and he loves it! He is a busy little fella who is easily distracted but not when he's wearing the Forbrain headset.
The most difficult part of using Forbrain has been restricting the use of the headset. Our children love how clearly they can hear themselves when wearing it and would love to use it all day if they could. Wouldn't it be really cool if we could hear our voice perfectly clear all the time?
Who is Forbrain for?
Forbrain is recommended to be used daily to optimize your results. It can be used with children as young as 5 years old for 15 minutes a day and older teens and adults can wear it for 20 minutes a day for the best results. The manual also shares time guidelines for intensive training.
Forbrain helps to:
Improve attention and memory
Help with reading difficulty
Assists with Auditory Processing Disorders
Proper pronunciation
Improving the tone of your singing voice
Helps with focus
Forbrain has become a really important part of our homeschool lessons. I've seen a big improvement in how my younger children focus during their reading lessons and they are finding memory work much easier.
