I have difficulty hearing my television

I have difficulty hearing my television; my family complains it is too loud, but when it is softer I can’t understand what the people are saying.  What can I do?

There are several options that can help make television watching easier and clearer.  The first thing to do is make sure that your hearing has been tested recently.  You may benefit from hearing aids or a change in your hearing aid programming.   By providing individualized increases in volume where you need it most hearing aids can not only make understanding the television easier but can also make understanding people easier in general.  Additionally most hearing aids now have specialized programs designed especially to help with listening to the television and to music.

Another option is to use a device that allows you to turn up the volume of the television for yourself without turning up the volume for everyone else.  These devices consist of headphones you wear and a device that plugs in to the TV that sends the sound to you either through a cord or through wireless connections.  There are several versions of these devices and many can be used by people with or without hearing aids.  

If you currently wear hearing aids or you purchase new hearing aids a very useful option involves a small device worn on a lanyard around the neck that receives the television signal from a small box that hooks into your television set. This small neck worn device then sends the sound directly to both hearing aids without any wires.  Each hearing aid company has its own version of this device.  Siemens has the MiniTek, Phonak calls theirs the ComPilot, and Oticon uses the StreamerPro.  The best thing is that these devices do double duty; they can help with both the television and the telephone!