Help with hearing the television and such

[Carol the Dabbler]

I wish my mom weren't so hard of hearing, I think she'd love to listen to that kind of thing. <snip> Has anyone had any experience with various devices meant to aid in hearing audio? I don't mean hearing aids (she can't wear them) but ... well, there was a hand-held device at one of the hospitals she was in that she didn't mind using, for example. Anybody know anything about stuff like that that actually works, that the general public can get hold of?

I'd love to know about that sort of thing as well, for my Mom (and perhaps for myself in a few more years).

 

Somebody on this forum mentioned a while back that some add-on sound systems for televisions allow one to favor the frequencies where voices occur, thus diminishing background noise, music, etc. I'd love to know what that feature is called, so I can look into it. Recent movies in particular seem to have increasingly more non-voice noise, compared to older movies. I've never been very good at picking voices out of background noise, and I doubt that I'm going to get any better at it.

 

As for hearing aid - a normal earphones might be just fine. You just have to make the source louder.

 

I agree regarding earphones, J.P. -- they can certainly be a help.  But they seem to amplify everything, not just voices.

[Arcadia]

My mom tried earphones once and refused to try them again ... I think because of what you mentioned, Carol, about them amplifying everything and therefore not helping much ... but also because she just dislikes the physical sensation of having something on/in her ears. And, I suspect, she thinks it "looks silly."  (This is the same woman who WILL NOT leave the house without spending a half hour putting on makeup first, even if we're only going to the landfill ("Someone might see me!") :D )

 

Also increasingly she can't hear me on the phone, which is getting to be a problem as it makes it hard to check on how she's doing while I'm gone. Sigh.

[Carol the Dabbler]

My mom tried earphones once and refused to try them again ...

 

Also increasingly she can't hear me on the phone, which is getting to be a problem as it makes it hard to check on how she's doing while I'm gone. Sigh.

 

I hear ya!  (So to speak....)

 

OK, I found the earlier reference to voice-favoring sound systems:

 

You should actually get one of those home theater systems then. Ours has a setting where you can just turn the speech part of the sound louder and clearer (as opposed to everything), and that is one perfect feature with all those blu-rays that have speech-deafening orchestral scores as their default sound setting.

 

That wouldn't help with telephones, but should be a good feature when watching television or listening to anything else that's hooked up to the sound system.  Does anyone know what that feature is called?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Arcadia, do you have the sort of telephone where you can turn the volume up?  Would that help any?

 

[Boton]

 

I wish my mom weren't so hard of hearing, I think she'd love to listen to that kind of thing. <snip> Has anyone had any experience with various devices meant to aid in hearing audio? I don't mean hearing aids (she can't wear them) but ... well, there was a hand-held device at one of the hospitals she was in that she didn't mind using, for example. Anybody know anything about stuff like that that actually works, that the general public can get hold of?

I'd love to know about that sort of thing as well, for my Mom (and perhaps for myself in a few more years).

 

Somebody on this forum mentioned a while back that some add-on sound systems for televisions allow one to favor the frequencies where voices occur, thus diminishing background noise, music, etc. I'd love to know what that feature is called, so I can look into it. Recent movies in particular seem to have increasingly more non-voice noise, compared to older movies. I've never been very good at picking voices out of background noise, and I doubt that I'm going to get any better at it.

 

I agree regarding earphones, J.P. -- they can certainly be a help.  But they seem to amplify everything, not just voices.

 

 

Carol, my Dad intermittently uses something called "TV Ears," which apparently he finds somewhat but not entirely effective.  He also has had really good success using the assistive listening devices available for the asking at movie theaters.

[Arcadia]

Arcadia, do you have the sort of telephone where you can turn the volume up?  Would that help any?

 

Carol, my Dad intermittently uses something called "TV Ears," which apparently he finds somewhat but not entirely effective.  He also has had really good success using the assistive listening devices available for the asking at movie theaters.

Sorry ladies, somehow I missed these until now!

 

Answer to question 1: Yes, but the volume on the phone is already turned up as high as it will go. Although I do sometimes suspect when she answers the downstairs phone, she holds it upside down (?) We have an old fashioned rotary phone upstairs, she does best with that.

 

I also already have set the TV to "enhanced dialog", but I don't see that it makes much difference. She can't read closed captions fast enough to keep up. It's all very frustrating for both of us; I've got the volume cranked so loud for her that it's actually painful for me.

 

Yeah, one of those assisted listening devices is the kind of thing I'm after. She refuses to use them in public (Mom, no one can see you in the dark!) but I'd like to give one a try in the home. Some place like Best Buy, maybe? That place seems like strictly entertainment stuff to me, though. I don't buy electronics much, so I'm never sure where to shop. Plus I always feel like an idiot when I do, because I don't have the proper terminology. ("Erm, I want one of those things that plugs into the other thing so I can hear this thing .... ") Oh well: anything for my Mom!

[Carol the Dabbler]

... the volume on the phone is already turned up as high as it will go. Although I do sometimes suspect when she answers the downstairs phone, she holds it upside down (?)

Been there, seen that! (Mom's eyesight isn't much good, which doesn't help -- and makes subtitles of no use whatsoever to her.)

 

I also already have set the TV to "enhanced dialog", but I don't see that it makes much difference.

Don't say that! I've been thinking of getting one of those sound systems for myself, considering all the music, explosions, etc. used in movies nowadays.

 

I've got the volume cranked so loud for her that it's actually painful for me.

Try a pair of these for yourself.  They're lightweight, comfortable, and don't give me a headache like the earmuff kind.  I use them when I'm running my Vitamix blender, and it's great -- I can still hear voices fairly well, just not all the screeching.  Love 'em!

 

I don't buy electronics much, so I'm never sure where to shop. Plus I always feel like an idiot when I do, because I don't have the proper terminology.

I know what you mean!  For one thing, I'm generally not planning to use said item the way any normal person would, so I not only don't know what it's called, I don't even know what it's supposed to be used for.  Salespeople get this really peculiar look on their face at that point.

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

 

Yeah, one of those assisted listening devices is the kind of thing I'm after. She refuses to use them in public (Mom, no one can see you in the dark!) but I'd like to give one a try in the home. Some place like Best Buy, maybe? That place seems like strictly entertainment stuff to me, though. I don't buy electronics much, so I'm never sure where to shop. Plus I always feel like an idiot when I do, because I don't have the proper terminology. ("Erm, I want one of those things that plugs into the other thing so I can hear this thing .... ") Oh well: anything for my Mom!

 

 

 

Best Buy might have them or if you still have a Radio Shack near you.  Refer to it as an assisted listening device & that it's for your mother to hear the tv better.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Arcadia, I don't entirely understand this article, but this sounds like it might help your mother.

 

Oops -- nope, I forget, she can't wear hearing aids.  Maybe that'll help someone else, then.

 

[Arcadia]

Actually, Carol, the a couple of the devices mentioned in that article sounds like it might be just the thing! Thanks! Will print it out and take it to Best Buy (no more Radio Shacks here -- I thought they were all gone?) -- then I don't have to try and sound like I know what I'm talking about.
 
I suppose I could shop online, too. (Duh.) I'm still in the "I must see it before I buy it" era... :D

 

Ooops, speaking of Moms and TVs, mine needs help with latter, laterz!

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Radio Shack still exists but barely.  I drive by 1 twice a week on average.  Have fun helping your mom.

[Arcadia]

Yeh, I think ours are allllll gone. But I will try Best Buy and remember "assisted listening" -- that will help, thanks!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Actually, Carol, a couple of the devices mentioned in that article sounds like it might be just the thing!

 

I just skimmed that article, but it was my impression that the device works by "broadcasting" to one's hearing aids -- which is why it does not require headphones. Just be sure you know what you're getting.

[Arcadia]

Well, the first one described sounded to me like it did better for people without hearing aids. Anyway, I've bookmarked the page so when I get a chance, I'm going to check it out.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, right -- you're talking about this part:

 

 

 

Many theaters and movie houses have assistive listening devices (ALDs) in the form of infrared headsets like the Sennheiser systems that you see on our list of featured manufacturers. However, they can be uncomfortable and less effective when used in tandem with a hearing aid.

 

I had forgotten about that, since (in this article) it was just sort of a preamble to their description of devices that are intended to work with hearing aids.  Yeah, that might be just what you're looking for -- and now you also know what to call them.

 

Let us know what you find out, OK?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Guess this is as good a thread as any --

I just ran across this information on Wikipedia's Closed captioning page:

Quote

Improvements in speech recognition software mean that live captioning may be fully or partially automated. BBC Sport broadcasts use a "respeaker": a trained human who repeats the running commentary (with careful enunciation and some simplification and markup) for input to the automated text generation system. This is generally reliable, though errors are not unknown.

 

Interesting.  Wonder how long it'll be before some sort of semi/automated system is used for regular programming?