Still Struggling to Hear in Noise — Even With Hearing Aids?
Hearing aids amplify sound, but they cannot train your brain to separate one voice from a noisy room. Capital ENT audiologists Margaux Colburn, AuD (Austin) and Jill Rodriguez, AuD (Lakeway) offer LACE AI auditory training — a short, at-home program that strengthens the brain skills you rely on to understand speech in restaurants, crowds, and group conversations.
Training the brain, not just the ear
Hearing happens in the brain. Even the most advanced hearing aids only deliver sound to the inner ear — what your brain does with that sound determines how well you understand speech, especially in challenging environments. When background noise is heavy, the brain has to work much harder to pick one voice out of many. For some patients, that work has become exhausting; for others, it simply isn't happening accurately enough anymore.
Auditory training is a structured, evidence-informed approach to strengthening those exact skills. The program we use, LACE AI (Listening and Communication Enhancement), is a smartphone-based set of short, adaptive listening exercises that patients complete at home — about 15 minutes a day for 30 days — under the supervision of one of our audiologists.
- Designed for real-world listeningExercises target the specific skills that break down in noisy rooms: speech-in-noise discrimination, rapid-speech processing, working memory for conversation, and contextual comprehension.
- At-home, on your scheduleThe full program runs on your smartphone. Sessions are short and adapt to your performance, so the training stays at the right difficulty level as you improve.
- Audiologist-supervisedThis is not a stand-alone app download. Your audiologist sets up the program, reviews your progress between visits, and adjusts your hearing aid programming if changes are warranted.
- Available with or without hearing aidsAuditory training can complement a new hearing aid fitting, supplement devices you already own, or be used as a stand-alone service for patients with normal or mild hearing loss who still struggle in noise.
Is Auditory Training Right for You?
Our audiologists most commonly recommend auditory training for four kinds of patients. If you recognize yourself in any of these, a consultation is a good next step.
New Hearing Aid Users
The first weeks with new hearing aids are an adjustment for the brain, not just the ears. Sounds you haven't heard in years can feel sharp or unfamiliar. Pairing your fitting with auditory training gives your brain a structured way to relearn how to process amplified speech — particularly in the noisy environments where new users often struggle most.
Patients Unhappy with Current Devices
If you already wear hearing aids but find that noisy restaurants, group dinners, or meetings still leave you exhausted and lost, the problem may not be the devices. Many patients we see in Lakeway come in for a "hearing concern" and turn out to need brain-side support, not new hardware. Auditory training is often the missing piece.
Wanting More From Your Aids
Even when hearing aids are working well, there's often more performance to unlock. Auditory training can sharpen the skills that determine how well you do in the hardest listening situations — extending the benefit you get from devices you already own and use every day.
Normal or Mild Hearing Loss
Some patients pass a standard hearing test but still cannot follow conversation in noisy places — a pattern sometimes called hidden hearing loss or central auditory processing difficulty. For these patients, hearing aids may not be the right starting point. Auditory training, as a stand-alone service, often is.
How LACE AI Works
The program is short, structured, and supervised. Most patients complete the core training in about four weeks.
Audiology Consultation
You meet with Dr. Colburn (Austin) or Dr. Rodriguez (Lakeway) for a diagnostic hearing evaluation and a conversation about your specific listening difficulties. If auditory training is appropriate — alone or alongside hearing aids — they set up your LACE AI account, walk you through the app, and tailor the starting difficulty to your hearing profile.
At-Home Training
You complete short listening sessions on your smartphone — about 15 minutes a day, most days, for roughly 30 days. Exercises adapt automatically to your performance, keeping the difficulty at the productive edge of your ability. Your audiologist can monitor your progress remotely between visits.
Follow-Up & Fine-Tuning
The program includes two in-office follow-up visits with your audiologist to review your progress, address questions, and — if you wear hearing aids — adjust programming based on what the training has revealed about your real-world listening. Many patients find their devices feel different after training, because their brains are processing the same sound more effectively.
What the Research Actually Shows
We want patients to understand what auditory training can — and cannot — do before committing to a 30-day program.
- Improvements on trained tasks are well documentedA 2023 PMC review of speech-in-noise training programs concluded that structured auditory training does improve performance on the specific listening skills practiced, particularly when training uses complex speech material and is sustained over multiple sessions.
- LACE specifically has been studied for hearing aid usersIndependent peer-reviewed research has examined remotely delivered auditory training programs, including LACE, in adults with hearing loss — with measurable improvements on trained speech-in-noise tasks.
- Real-world transfer varies between patientsThe same research literature is honest that gains on the program don't always translate one-for-one to real-world conversation. This is why we supervise the program and pair it with hearing aid programming adjustments — to maximize the chance that improvements actually show up at the dinner table.
- It is not a substitute for evaluationAuditory training is not appropriate as the first step for every hearing concern. Some symptoms point to medical causes that need a physician's attention — earwax impaction, middle-ear fluid, sudden hearing loss, or asymmetric loss in one ear. A full audiology evaluation rules those out before training is recommended.
Our Audiologists
Auditory training at Capital ENT is supervised by Doctors of Audiology — not delivered as an unsupervised app. Both of our audiologists offer the LACE AI program.
Margaux Colburn, AuD
Dr. Colburn supervises auditory training for our Austin patients. She has been a practicing audiologist since 2008 and has been repeatedly recognized as one of Austin's top audiologists. Her approach centers on helping patients reconnect with the sounds and conversations that matter most to them — which makes brain-side hearing care a natural extension of her work.
experience
Audiology
to seniors
provider
Jill Rodriguez, AuD, CCC-A
Dr. Rodriguez supervises auditory training for our Lakeway patients. She frequently sees patients who already own hearing aids but haven't gotten the benefit they expected — and auditory training has become a meaningful tool for that group. She earned both her undergraduate and doctoral degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and works closely with our ENT physicians on integrated care.
Audiology
Certified
to seniors
provider
Audiology availability: Auditory training is offered at our Austin and Lakeway locations. Patients from our Marble Falls and Dripping Springs clinics are welcome to schedule at the Lakeway audiology suite — typically the most convenient option.
How to Get Started
Auditory training begins with a focused audiology consultation. Your audiologist will review your hearing history, run any diagnostic testing that's needed, and recommend whether auditory training is appropriate — on its own, with new hearing aids, or alongside devices you already own.
- Available as part of a new hearing aid fitting or as a stand-alone service
- Two in-office follow-up visits included with the program
- One of the few ENT-supervised auditory training programs in the Austin area
- Your audiologist will discuss cost and any insurance considerations during your visit
Ready to Hear Better in Noise?
Schedule an audiology consultation with Dr. Colburn (Austin) or Dr. Rodriguez (Lakeway) to find out whether auditory training is right for you.
Schedule a ConsultationAuditory Training FAQ
Train Your Brain to Hear Better
Our audiologists — Dr. Margaux Colburn (Austin) and Dr. Jill Rodriguez (Lakeway) — can tell you whether auditory training is the right next step for your hearing concerns. Most patients see the program described from start to finish in a single visit.