Do You Have Trouble Hearing the Television?
Are you one of the many people who have trouble hearing the television with your hearing aids? I hear that comment almost everyday from patients. Some people sit right up close to the t.v. and some people sit further away, which, of course, all depends on the layout of your home and where you are able to place your chairs or couch. You know that the further away from your television you are the harder it will be to hear it. Years ago when asked "How can I hear my television better while sitting in my favorite chair?" Our reply would be, "You will have to move your chair closer to so you can hear better."
As technology gets better and better every year (heck it seems like it is getting better every month) out comes bigger and better devices to help you hear your favorite program. The loop system combined with the telecoil in your hearing aid has been around for a little while and makes it easier to hear in classrooms, in auditoriums, at places of worship, and now in some airports. Now I am not a loop system expert, so I will not go any further with that, but there is a contributor to the betterhearing.org/blog who wrote a great article on the looping of airports.
Anyway, back to technology and the television. I have been working with different devices that hook up to your t.v. wirelessly to see which is the best one. What I am finding out is that I(in my opinion) cannot say one is better than the other, because they all have something different to offer. But one that I have tried lately is the Sennheiser 810s with an induction loop worn around the neck. What I liked about it was it was easy setup and easy to control the sound coming from the television to your hearing aids. The Sennheiser has a very nice size dial that is the volume control that can be connected to the induction loop and wear it around your neck. It works with the telecoil inside your hearing aid and the induction loop/dial to control the sound, all wirelessly.I pesonally thought the sound quality was very good, also if you are watching a t.v. program with a friend the volume control can stay at the level your friend enjoys.
There are several different television devices to pair with your hearing aids, and I can't say I have a hands down favorite. I think they all have something to offer and you need to see which one bests suits your needs. If you have any questions or comments please leave a response on this blog and I will be more than happy to reply.
Aug 19, 2009 at 7:33 AM This is very good information. For the consumer I would love to see a comprehensive list of looping devices, where do you get them, who installs them, as well as price. I know there are a couple of hearing health professionals who actually go out to the consumer's home and inductively loop the individuals TV and stereo system. And what about TV ears I think they might have a device that makes use of the telecoil in the hearing aid?
Oct 10, 2009 at 9:23 AM I am a hearing aid dispenser and I have used the TV EARS unit for a number of years in my home. I love it. Whether a person has a hearing loss or not they are great at reducing the problem of understanding conversation on TV. All the other noise is attenuated and the words are clear. Anyone having difficulty should at least try them.