hay? what?

[Woody2Shoes]

My hearing is pretty good, but my supervisor's is not so she naturally prefers the telly much louder.

The subtitles are a godsend - and also allow me to continue to follow the plot while she's on the phone to her sister (with the sound down) or while she's explaining my instructions etc....

 

[SammyQ]

Loftyhermes said:

I had trouble hearing the TV, I suffer from Tinnitus and hearing loss at the higher frequencies, ended up with hearing aids which are a revelation to the sounds I can now hear. Until I got some I just didn't know what sounds I couldn't hear before, so go for a hearing test before spending a load of money.

I totally and utterly agree. I have programmable ones from Boots Hearingcare and they have been frequency adjusted twice now to sort out my change from a crowded noisy classroom to retirement in a quiet semi-rural cul-de-sac bungalow. You are not going to believe this, but the software actually has a setting for 'wife louder/softer'...you couldn't make it up!!

Sam

 

[MusicMan]

After years of dithering over this problem I got NHS hearing aids, the new Starkey Kinnect type that are iPhone controlled. I have old man's high frequency hearing loss. It has completely transformed my understanding of speech and TV dialogue. Strongly recommended.

They are not so good for music, as they shift the frequency a little, about a quarter of a semitone. Enough to drive me mad as a musician, but only a problem when hearing individual instruments. A large chorus/orchestra/muzak background has so many people playing out of tune that it is less important! And 3 kHz (where I start losing hearing) is enough to hear the ranges of all the orchestral instruments. But not enough to hear and distinguish the critical consonants like ch sh, d b p hence one misses the beginnings of words.

With the iPhone control I can quickly turn them off for music, on for speech or have some intermediate setting. Not ideal, but not at all bad. The 'on' setting with treble boost allows me to understand modern actors' speech. There are some side benefits too. Streaming sources go direct to the ears (via Bluetooth) and aren't heard by anyone else. Music isn't too bad when one hears only from the aids and not direct as well. And very usefully, iPhone Maps Navigator sends the directions straight into your head, as do mobile phone calls.

Keith

 

[Bodgers]

I'm 34 but have significant hearing reduction due to being stupid and not wearing hearing protection when I should have done.

we have a sound bar which mean the telly is louder but the sound isn't crisper if that makes sense. regardless of the volume of the telly I just use subtitles, at least that stops the wife from complaining about how deaf I am and how the telly is too loud.

Yes, most soundbars are just small home cinema kits and to be avoided at all costs by people like ourselves. My hearing was very good untill a few years ago wehn I got infections in both ears at the same time. They never recovered. Ironic considering I had taken extreme care of them during a 25 year shooting hobby.
But the soundbar I listed has "hearing aid electronics" built in and is sold specifically for people with hearing difficulties by separating speech and having varying levels of adjustment. I am seriously considering it, but as usual cant find anyone who actually has one.

That's interesting. I wasn't aware that that sort of technology existed.

I'll have a look into the soundbar you suggested. Ideally you'd want to try it for a week before you buy but I bet they don't offer that.

It is basically just compression, whereby the levels are just flattened. Broadcast radio playing music has used it for many decades.

I suppose this particular feature might be a bit more intelligent in that it looks for the typically speech frequencies.

 

[sunnybob]

lifted from a review that puts this as "the best soundbar"

ZVOX's proprietary AccuVoice technology literally lifts voices out of the sound track - and then modifies the voices using hearing aid technology. We have never heard dialogue this clear and sharp. You'll hear every word, even on poorly mixed programs or British programs.CNET says “Great for folks who have trouble hearing the TV.

As its an american site, I love the fact they quote "British programs" as being the worst. =D> =D> :roll: