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Watching TV when hard of hearing

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Edited

No wonder so many of us would prefer NOT TO! – even with sophisticated helps and connections! Here’s what is bragged about an award-winning situation comedy – “a dizzying words-to-minutes ratio”! Ugh, I don’t want to try. Yes, there’s other video available these days–especially with a “smart” TV, which is essentially a big screen for your internet. Documentaries and other educational stuff is sometimes easier for the hearing-impaired, but often the soundtrack music is unnecessarily loud.

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I’m lost without closed captions/subtitles my hearing aids are wonderful don’t get me wrong but certain shows or films are worse than others. For me it’s background music. Speech on just a basic talking tv show I can mostly follow without captions, stick a movie or show on with a lot background noises behind speech or music I end up completely lost.

All my friends and family now just leave captions on their tv! Most say we ended up finding it easier ourselves and we don’t have hearing issues, I don’t know why I never used it before? Quite a few were hesitant to put it on when I first asked but after a few days or visits from me ended up going hey can you put captions/subtitles back on my tv I didn’t realize how quick I adapted and I actually missed it after you left :rofl:

So it isn’t just those with hearing issues that struggle even those without hearing problems can have a milder understanding of our struggles. I’ve often joked I wish life came with closed captions sometimes I’ve tried a few live closed caption apps and while they’re good for one on one conversations they were utterly useless for large group conversations.

TV aaarrrggghhhh.

Audio and video are out of synch so often. I lip read. This drives me crazy!

I watch for facial expressions too…

Best thing I’ve done…read a book referenced here.

HEAR & BEYOND
Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss

SHARI EBERTS
GAEL HANNAN

Edited

Yes, it’s an Excellent Book! Everyone should read it!!

My pet-peeve really is fast-talkers, and high squeaky voices–so many women, sad to say, even slightly older ones who should know better (one can sort of forgive the college-aged ones who haven’t grown up yet), but why do grown women so often sound like teenagers these days?

Captions are a huge help. I normally use them, but with very fast talkers captions are not always able to keep up. They fall behind and huge gaps appear in producing the text.

And as noted, it is not just the hearing impaired that needs CC. The producers of the shows who play such a loud background help no one at all.

I’m relatively new to ’s. One of the things that prompted me to get them was my inability to understand dialogue from the TV, even with wireless earphones. With my Signia C&G AX’s, I ordered a Signia Streamline TV Streamer. The difference is night and day. I’d say I’ve gone from understanding about 50% of the TV dialogue to 90%! There are still some things I don’t catch, but then neither does my excellent hearing wife. Another advantage is that she can have the volume where she wants it and so can I. I heartily recommend a direct from TV to Hearing Aid streamer. They’re a little pricey, but worth it, in my opinion.
Jay

I’m glad for your excellent story! I use a different hearing system that lets me pipe the sound direct to my ears and, I agree, the difference is night and day!

I’ve been using and CC since 2010, when I got my 1st HAs and my 1st TV that allowed CC. CC was good, but CC helps not a bit with live TV - news and SNL.

I just git new aids and a TV streamer. My W has aids without a streamer. Unless a speaker has an accent, and some times even when the speaker does have one, I no longer need to watch the captions.

I ignore media that is designed to be unintelligible.

I started watching TV with closed captioning a long time ago. Have grown to prefer it.

The TV streamers came along and they are great. This was Phonak equipment back then.

Now I am bilateral and have a TV streamer. This streamer was key in my rehabilitation when activated. Now I really don’t need the streamer with very good word understanding but I still prefer closed captioning. Sound on the TV speakers is like noise pollution.

Bluetooth streaming is great for us hard of hearing. Those having a tuff time with TV should try a streamer.

For Mac users—-a reminder that iPad is almost identical with iPhone, both use iOS software; if you can stream to your phone, you should be able to stream from an iPad. Am I right? For TV news, I sometimes prefer my iPad to my TV, for the Bluetooth streaming.

@mystuart said:

For TV news, I sometimes prefer my iPad to my TV, for the Bluetooth streaming.

This can be done on Android devices as well.

In reply to @Raudrive

Fascinating that you hear/comprehend so well w your ! And that CC still plays an important role, because TV sound tracks are mostly so unpleasant!! I agree w you about TV sound. I was TV-less for decades, and now that I have one, I find the sound very disappointing, and generally prefer to go without it (CC enabled).

In reply to @Jay.Aitchsee

Yep, got the same aids and I ordered the TV streamer as well. When I built my house 3 years ago, I wired it for Dolby 7.1. thinking that might help. I can shake the whole house but, when it comes to speech, I pick up maybe every 5th word. So I’m thinking I would occasionally use the streamer - WRONG! I find my self pretty much using it all the time. Like you, I’m probably hitting about 90% but hey, watching a movie is absolutely enjoyable. I did have one issue with the streamer where I lost pairing with my left aid. I repaired and haven’t had any problem since. Ever get a phone call while use the TV streamer? Most of the time it will kick over and stream the call from my phone. and then kick back. But every now and then I need to reboot the aids.

I always have to use subtitles, even with hearing aids. If it does not have subtitles, then I will not bother watching. It will sound like a completely different language.

3 out of 4 of us in my household wear hearing aids and have always used subtitles. Don’t know where to look at the tv screen when there aren’t any subtitles😂

Sound comes through clearly with my TV streamer from ReSound for my Jabra (ReSound) . I don’t even look at the CC any more, except for speakers with an accent or interviewees with poor connections to the PBS News Hour.

In reply to @Jay.Aitchsee

People with IPhones and Apple compatible hearing aids (KS 10’s; most Oticon’s (OPN’s and later, Philips, Others) are linkable to Apple’s “live listen” which will stream Audio from a TV or Radio to your hearing aids (go to setting the dorm to “Accessiblity” then to Hearing Aids this will show your hearing aids - click them and they will link. Go to your front page then slide up to show the flashlight - but click the “ear” symbol on the right/ - then turn the mic on . Place your iPhone next to the TV speaker

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