What is auditory training?
Hearing aids make sounds louder and clearer, but your brain still has to make sense of them. Auditory training is structured listening practice — like exercises for listening — aimed at helping you follow speech, especially in difficult situations such as background noise.
What is LACE?
LACE is a home-based, adaptive auditory training programme developed by audiologists Dr Robert Sweetow and Dr Jennifer Henderson Sabes and now offered by Neurotone as Lace Pro. Exercises get slightly harder when you answer correctly and slightly easier when you don't, so it stays at the right level for you.
Neurotone says Lace Pro works on a phone, tablet or computer, and includes five lesson types:
- Speech in noise – hearing with background noise
- Rapid speech – keeping up with fast talkers
- Working memory – remembering what was said
- Missing word – understanding when you miss a word
- Speech reading – following face-to-face conversation
It also includes hearing aid advice and communication strategies. Neurotone makes Lace Pro available through hearing care providers, including us.
How much practice?
Neurotone currently suggests about 15 minutes a day for 30 days (around 5 hours in total). The original research used longer sessions: 20 half-hour sessions over about a month (5 per week).
What the evidence says
- In a 2006 study of 65 adults at five clinics (Sweetow & Henderson Sabes), people who trained with LACE improved on most measures, including speech-in-noise tests and questionnaires about hearing difficulties and communication. Gains were still present 4 weeks after training.
- However, a larger 2016 randomised trial of 279 US veterans with hearing aids (Saunders et al.) found LACE gave no extra benefit over hearing aids with standard care, either straight after training or at 6 months.
In short: evidence is mixed. Some people report better confidence and easier listening, but results vary and it is not guaranteed to help. It is an add-on, not a replacement for well-fitted hearing aids.
Who might it suit?
Neurotone describes Lace Pro as for:
- New hearing aid users getting used to social situations
- Long-time hearing aid users wanting more from their devices
- People who don't need, or aren't ready for, hearing aids yet
- People with mild hearing loss or listening difficulties
Tips to get started
- Wear your hearing aids during training, unless your audiologist advises otherwise.
- Pick a regular time each day and keep sessions short so you don't get tired.
- Use a quiet room and a comfortable volume.
- Stick with it for the full programme before judging results.
- Keep using communication tactics in real life — face the speaker and reduce background noise.
LACE at the clinic
As a Neurotone LACE Certified Partner, we offer LACE auditory training. Ask us about LACE — we can talk through whether it suits your hearing and how to get started.
Sources
- Neurotone: Lace Pro
- Neurotone: Publications
- Sweetow & Henderson Sabes (2006), J Am Acad Audiol
- Saunders et al. (2016), Ear and Hearing
- Technologic advances in aural rehabilitation (review)
Checked October 2026. If anything here differs from what your clinician tells you, follow your clinician.