Lip Reading

Lip reading, also called speechreading, is the ability to understand speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, tongue, teeth, and facial expressions of a speaker. Most people use some degree of lip reading naturally in face-to-face conversation, particularly in noisy environments. For people with hearing loss, lip reading takes on a greater role as a compensatory strategy.

Lip reading has significant limitations: many speech sounds look identical on the lips (for example, "p," "b," and "m" are visually indistinguishable), and only about 30 to 40 percent of spoken English is clearly visible on the mouth. Effective lip reading requires a direct line of sight to the speaker's face, good lighting, and a speaker who enunciates clearly without covering their mouth.

Lip reading is most useful when combined with whatever residual hearing a person still has, rather than relied on as a sole strategy. Speechreading training courses are available for people who want to improve this skill.