Give Up the Frustration — NOT Your Favorite Shows!
Everybody in your household’s gathered around the television for a treasured weekly ritual — back-to-back shows on Netflix with a side of laughter, popcorn, and cliff-hangers.
But when someone in the group has hearing loss, settling on a volume that keeps everybody happy can be difficult and downright frustrating.
Don’t let it put a damper on the fun! With these five tips for TV watching, you can keep the good times rolling for everyone.
Optimize Your TV Audio System
Isn’t muffled dialogue the worst? Sometimes it’s a production’s poor miking or sound mixing. It could be a matter of fine-tuning your TV or audiovisual receiver’s settings — if available on your make and model — for voice clarity. Make sure the settings are optimized for the type of show you’re watching, whether it’s a dialogue-heavy drama, a musical, or a sci-fi blockbuster with epic sound effects.
Turn On the Captions
Most televisions, cable boxes, or DVR devices offer a closed-caption setting you can select to display a program’s spoken words, some background noises, and other sounds in text form. Captions or subtitle options are also built into content-streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. It’s typically as easy as turning the option on or off during live shows or video playback.
Loop the Living Room
Audio loops or audio-induction loops, which connect to a hearing aid or cochlear implant’s T-coil setting to broadcast sound directly to individuals within the loop, aren’t just for public places such as museums, theaters, schools, churches, and medical facilities. You can set up a hearing loop in your own living room or media space as a DIY project or professional install!
Stream the Sound
How about a direct pipeline of clear sound between the audio source and your hearing aid? Innovations such as the ReSound TV Streamer 2 — a small tabletop device — let you stream audio from your TV, stereo, or PC straight to your hearing aid at a level that’s customized to your needs without changing the volume for everyone else.
Count on Hearing Aids
Even without accessories such as audio loops or streaming capabilities, today’s cutting-edge hearing technology is better than ever at curbing background noise, focusing on the audio you want to hear, adjusting to specific listening situations such as TV viewing, and providing superior sound quality over what you’d otherwise experience. Working with your hearing care specialist ensures the devices are programmed to meet your unique needs!
Want more tips to improve your TV-watching experience? Have a few tricks of your own to share? Contact our caring team today. We’d love to hear from you!