Forbrain - Hearing Yourself to Help you Learn ~ A New TOS Review!!

Struggling to read has been an issue in our home for two of my children. We also have some attention issues, spelling issues, and some problems with memorization of things like Bible verses and poetry. So when we had the opportunity to use and review this unique product to help with all types of reading difficulties, we thought we'd give it a try. This product is called Forbrain from Sound for Life LTD.

I know you are asking, what is Forbrain? Well it is a headset that one wears that uses bone conduction to create a audio-verbal loop to help with memory and verbal skills. It can be used by age 3 through adult. The audio-verbal loop allows the wearer to use their own voice in order to help promote stronger memory skills because you are able to clearly hear your voice.

You are intended to wear the headset for at 15-20 minutes per day and after 6 weeks of continued use you should see improvements. When you place the headset on you speak into a microphone that allows the sound to be directly transmitted to the cochlea vestibule nerve that lies in your inner ear. This happens when you turn on the headset and then amplifies your speech.

The headset comes in a zippered, soft-shelled, protective case. On the interior there is foam insert to stabilize and keep the headset from banging around. You also get a USB charge cable, extra mic covers, and a small set of instructions. The headset is rechargeable. As I mentioned earlier the headset includes a microphone (that you speak into to hear yourself), bone conductor transmitters (these sit on your cochlea vestibule nerve and allow the sound of your voice to be transmitted to your brain faster and more clearly), and then a dynamic filter (which enhances the frequency of your voice.)

By speaking into the headset Forbrain is intended to help the wearer hear their own voice which will help one to have better speech and memory by feeling the vibrations of our voice through the bones in our skull. This unique experience is definitely one that takes some getting used to. I had my son try it since he is still a struggling reader and has trouble memorizing. He could only wear the headset for short periods of time, sometimes less then the 10 minutes. He complained that it 'hurt'. He also gives me some push back when I tell him he needs to wear the headset. He doesn't like it, but he can't tell me a why.  However, he is a VERY LOUD speaker naturally. So even on a very low speaker setting (the headset has a volume adjuster) it was too loud for him. I did have him wear it while he was going through the memorization process of his poems.

 

I also had my eldest use it with the words she STILL has trouble remembering how to spell ... like said. She hasn't used as much as my other two, but I have not seen as much of a difference in how she spells any of her 'trouble' words. She does have some times where she's written them properly, but then still spells them incorrectly at times. I will have her continue to use it for this particular issue.

My other daughter also has some reading difficulties so I was having her wear the headset while she was reading aloud. She also complained that it was too loud so we had to make sure the headset was lowered. She would use it for about 10 minutes and then she'd have to stop. The size of it is also a little annoying to her ... it slides around on the back of her head.  But if she stays still and can place it then she can concentrate on her reading and not on the headset.

See the blue light?

The microphone can be placed pretty much anywhere, but should be about an inch from your mouth. If it's too close you can get a little feedback. And at first you will feel like you are yelling, but really you are not (unless you are a generally loud person.) When you turn the headset on you will see a bright blue light that lets you know that it is on.

All in all I'm not sure whether this unique device has done much for the ones using it in my family. I can see some differences in some areas, but we also have not had the product for the full 6 weeks. I plan on continuing to use the headset and see if I can clearly see improvement in reading for my two younger ones and then spelling for my older one and then I'll post an update again in the new year.

If you, or one of your children have memory issues, reading struggles, or speech difficulties this is a product you will want to fully investigate. You can read all about how others on the Crew used the headset in their homes by clicking the link below. You can also find Forbrain from Sound for Life LTD on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. There's also a video showing you all about their product. You can check it out below!