Posted on 02/09/2013 5:29:01 PM PST by randita
A relative of ours is hard of hearing. He's tried several types of hearing aids but they have not met his satisfaction.
When he visits us and we're watching TV, he can't hear it unless the volume is so loud it drives the rest of us out of the room. We have a small house and an open floor plan, so moving to another room is not an option. We can hear a loud TV throughout the entire house.
A possible solution would be a headset for him on which he can adjust to volume to his liking while the rest of us can keep the TV volume at a reasonable level. But I haven't seen anything like that available according to the research I've done.
What I have seen are heat sets which take over the TV volume entirely (so that people without head sets have no audio) OR personal amplifiers which are placed near the person who is hard of hearing. I'm not sure how these amplifiers work, but I wonder if they would be annoying to others in the room.
There may even be a way to replicate what's seen and heard on the TV onto a computer with a head set running out of the computer. But we don't have an extra computer to devote to that.
FYI, the TV set is a Panasonic Viera plasma, two years old. There are a couple of HDMI outputs that we're not using.
We currently don't have a sound system connected, but will soon. We moved recently and are still unpacking items like that.
Please don't bother with suggestions for hearing aids. This person is stubborn and absolutely will not listen to any suggestions.
I hope I've explained the situation satisfactorily, but if not, please feel free to ask for more information.
Any ideas are welcome and GREATLY appreciated.
Hearing aids are a big, big business. Who to believe?
I went to my HMO and had my hearing tested sitting in a sound booth. Mild hearing loss. I have trouble understanding some people, but not others. The audiology nurse (I think that’s what she was), told me that hearing aid wouldn’t help me much if at all.
A year later I went to a free Italian lunch funded by a local hearing aid shop and signed up for a free initial hearing test. This time I sat next to the owner of the shop (whose speech I understood perfectly!), computer screen in front of him, and I tapped my knee whenever I heard a sound in the headphones. Mild hearing loss at certain frequencies, he explained quite a lot, and invited me for a comprehensive test which I knew would be followed by a high pressure sales pitch. Told me that of course a hearing aid would help me. Costs had been explained during that group lunch a week earlier. I declined the invitation.
(1) Not hearing the “beep” when the microwave oven is done
(2) Not hearing the top five or six notes on a piano
(3) Missing about 20 - 30% of the audio track for TV programming
So, here are our well tested solutions:
(1) If you have cable, DISH or Direct TV, they ALL offer some sort of closed captioning. We find it to be a bit distracting to follow the text while trying to watch the video, (especially action filled programming) but is IS one solution. We use it mostly during programs spoken with a Brit or other accents.
(2) Wireless headphones - and there are several variations
W/L Headphone Type #1 uses infrared beams to transmit the signal. NOT RECOMMENDED because they require pretty much line of sight and certainly won't allow walking into the kitchen for a fridge raid while listening to the soundtrack.
W/L Headset Type #2 - uses radio transmission and there are basically two transmission schemes. The CHEAPER type uses a low power FM BAND transmitter which will work pretty well if you are NOT in a large Metro Area like NY, LA or Chicago. In such areas, it's almost impossible to find an used frequency to use with this type of headset. The good news is that ONE transmitter can service multiple headsets, just like 88.5FM can be picked up by ANY FM receiver, including such headsets. The headsets are essentially FM Radios built into a pair of headsets, teamed with a very low power FM transmitter sending the audio from your TV to any FM Receiver within about 50 feet, just like Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh.
The BETTER type of W/L Headset uses the same technology as cordless phones. Since cordless phones for some years now have had automatic channel hopping/search capability, they seem to work just fine around the house even in densely populated areas. They have the widest selection of manufacturers and provide the best sounds quality.
Of the first type, Harbor Freight Tool Outlets sell a kit for around $10 - $15 that you can use as a “proof of concept”. (google their website)
The drawback to that particular set and many others out there - SO BEWARE - is that they have no internal charging system. That means every few hours you're swapping the batteries in and out of the headset, transmitter and charger. IT IS A ROYAL SUPER DOOPER PAIN, and for that reason, for the second TV, we recently went shopping again and replaced the Harbor Freight set with a kit from Acoustic Research.
They work well, but another “comfort factor” has emerged. On some sets, the AR included, the ear cups do not swivel left to right (horizontally), so they don't conform to one’s head is if is tapered from front to back. It's not a deal killer for us, but something to watch for. We found that issue was REALLY UNACCEPTABLE for the “stethoscope” style similar to the old commercial airplane headsets - just too uncomfortable/unadjustable for anything over a few minutes use. They're so useless, I'm not spending any more time on them than this.
We have had a wireless (cordless phone technology) set made by RCA for over five years and they still work fine in the den.
Over the ear vs in the ear is a personal choice, but from a sanitary point of view we prefer the OTE style.
Most newer TVs will have some sort of audio output that is not affected by the TV volume control and can be run into the headset transmitter, but there are kits out there fopr older TVs that use a small microphone placed near the TV speaker to pick up the sound. Volume Independence is lost with that sort of arrangement.
Expect to pay between $50 & 80$ for a decent pair, WITH INTERNAL CHARGING ability. Anything cheaper will disappoint you and anything more expense is wasting your hard earned $$$$. Put the headset on the charger every night just before going to bed and it will last several lhours the next day.
It makes life SO much more pleasant for all concerned.
The only issue now is trying to communicate while watching TV. I think there's a product need out there to allow old foggie couples to communicate even if one or both are watching TV via headset - kind of like when on a motorcycle with the helmet-com link.
As things stand, we have to pause the program if one of us wants to make a real time comment about something on screen.
;-}
Oh well, nothing’s perfect. And, one last comment - IF you're going to have more than one TV in the house equipped with a wirleess headset kit, make SURE you buy a type that includes MORE THAN ONE CHANNEL for the radio link. Our RCA transmitter is FIXED while the RCA headset is adjustable (strange design) but we are able to run the two TVs independently because the NEW set from AR has THREE chanels built-in. Hope this helps ....
Well, you could always go get your own beer instead of making her do it.
Sorry, I couldn't resist. :)
I have hearing aids, you might mention they aren’t cheap. Mine were a little over $8K.
I’m 67 years old and hear just fine with my aids. When I go to visit my parents and they turn on the tv, I have to remove my aids. Mom’s 92 and has hearing aids but doesn’t usually wear them.
Go to a professional first, whose interest is in your welfare, not just your wallet. Your first test was the comprehensive one. Did they give you the report for other professionals to evaluate? Your audiology (nurse?)(certified?) person might have been right -- at this point in your life, that is.
The owner of your hearing shop was also probably right. That was just a preliminary evaluation, not an analytical one. You might have to pay a fee for another comprehensive one, as I did. Glad I got one -- but not connected with a brand.
Thanks. I just don’t know who to believe, as I said. The owner of the shop explained how these devices work, they are quite sophisticated and finely computer tunable, something I hadn’t realized. But they are very expensive and require frequent care and tuning, none of it free, I assume, and too much bother, commitment like teeth cleaning and eye exams. The comprehensive test the man offered would be free as well, the payoff for him would come from the cost of the hearing aid and its maintenance. As for the HMO, I don’t know if the nurse there was protecting the organization and its finances by sending me on my way, but I’m pretty sure that hearing aids there wouldn’t come at much of a discount if any. For now, I’ll wait and keep asking people I don’t understand to repeat.
It's (re)programmable, to fit my loss profile. Seems to work real good. But everybody is different, even between left and right ear. I suspect my left is worse because that side is a little nearer to the muzzle of the M1 Rifle.
Actually, in our new place, the TV Area and kitchen ARE one BIG room, so I guess IF might work, using a three-wall-bank/scatter shot.
She still couldn’t wander around into other rooms doing “stuff” while the ads are running if the phones were IF.
I got burned royally by an Audibel Dealer and their Free Testing. The person owning the dealership did not deliver on features promised. My second set came from V.A. and their Audiologist tested me. They issued me a pair and reset my old pair to where they worked a little better. If you are a vet the VA has a great Audiology program.
My advice, is closed captioning. It’s a godsend. Don’t watch TV anymore though.
I know some geaks who take some quality protection muffs and insert a pair of decent earbuds in them, voila instant studio earmuffs redneck style.
I should have posted that I had help too. $8K is what my ins. paid for them. For anybody on Medicare that’s interested, Medicare pays zero.
I am with mom. I almost can’t watch TV without closed captioning. And it isn’t a hearing problem. I have gotten more and more where I do not like loud environments, so I keep the TV volume way down. And read TV.
Thanks for that advice.
This is only a short term solution when he is visiting us which would only be a week or two every year with perhaps 2-3 hours per day watching TV-maybe not even every day. He only watches TV at night. He reads during the day.
I wouldn’t think in those conditions, there would be harm if he were careful.
Yeah when Mike told me about his new hearing aids I wanted some, and I don’t even need them, but they sound really cool and handy for everybody. Technology is pretty cool sometimes.
Well, yeah -- of course not. But in the long term, it is probably going to get worse -- I suppose it might be slowed by better supplemental amplification that takes his auditory profile into account -- but aging brings worsening. Still, he ought to take the time to obtain a "free" examination if he has access to one.
This is not an expert's advice, it is advice from a layman for him to see a recommended expert.
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