TV Speakers for the hard of hearing?

[Stephen Tashiro]

Is there a way have a wireless speaker for a TV that sits near the person watching the TV? I have a friend who is slightly hard of hearing. (He doesn't wear a hearing aid.) It would help all concerned if he had a speaker for the TV sitting near him. It would be best if this arrangement was wireless because he keeps getting moved from room to room and nursing home to nursing home.

The staff at the local Best Buy is familar with "sound systems" that use wireless speakers. They aren't familiar with connecting a wireless speaker to an ordinary TV.

[Steve Kinnaird]

Look and see if there is a yellow RCA jack on the TV.
If so, buy a wireless headphone kit.
The transmitter will plug into the Yellow RCA jack.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Stephen,

Those of us who are severely hard of hearing or deaf using a cochlear implant often use a wireless headphone system for listening to television audio. The advantages are many. Primarily headphones remove the effects of room acoustics thus providing a better quality of sound and the volume is individually adjustable. Thus with headphones you can adjust the volume without driving the other people in the room out of the room. Here's one of the major companies that are used. http://en-us.sennheiser.com/wireless-tv-headphones

There are others. Just Google wireless headphones for television systems.

[Larry Frank]

The Sennheiser headphpnes that Ken linked to are great. I use them in my shop when running equipment and I am listening to something.

[glenn bradley]

My parents both used Sony wireless headphones for years with great success. I'm sure any quality brand would do the same. For mom and dad, the comfort of the wearer was the primary choice metric with sound quality right after.

[Erik Loza]

My brother speaks highly of those wireless headphones, too. I think he has Bose brand. He does not have hearing issues but works odd hours and does not want to wake up the rest of the house while watching TV.

Erik

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

Sorry, but the Yellow jack is for video. The audio jacks are Red & White, since any modern TV is stereo. Also make the sure the jacks are for output and not input, not all sets have output jacks.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Stephen,
Those of us who are severely hard of hearing or deaf using a cochlear implant often use a wireless headphone system for listening to television audio..

My friend is one of those hard of hearing who doesn't completely accept that he's hard of hearing and he won't wear headphones because he says they keep him from hearing whats going on (other than on the TV). The diplomatic solution needs to involve a speaker.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Stephen...if that's the case, then any speakers will do.

But I can tell you from somebody who is deaf, hears by way of a cochlear implant, listens to and enjoys music once again. Note, I would be lying if I told you the music is as good with my CI as it was before I went deaf. But, some of my favorite old music with which I am very familiar that I listened to pre-CI sounds fairly accurate and some is distorted. I have some really good 30+ year old speakers but the sound I hear now from Bose headphones is far superior to what I hear from my speakers. My wife and friends quickly verify there is nothing wrong with my speakers. The headphones remove an problems caused by the acoustics of the room. Room acoustics plays a big part in the hearing difficulties people with CIs endure when out in public places like restaurants, bars etc. The hard surfaces cause sound to reflect and come back at different times and thus the multiple echoes that we hear. It's amazing that the bones of the normally functioning human middle ear naturally remove this effect.

Tell your friend there are noise cancelling headphones that eliminate background noise like jet engines when you are flying but still allow you to hear the overhead announcements. I use a set of Bose QC-15 headphones. While traveling I often listen to music I have loaded in MP3 format on my cellphone and I can still hear the overhead announcements. I watch movies and listen to music provided by the airlines while traveling.

Note- my Bose QC-15 headphones are not wireless.

[Ed Griner]

Another possibility would be Closed Captioning (my personal preference) I've been using it for years.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Stephen...if that's the case, then any speakers will do.



Any wireless speaker will do, but is there a simple wireless speaker for TVs? Or do we have to buy a "sound system" that does a multitude of things we'll never want to do?


Another possibility would be Closed Captioning (my personal preference) I've been using it for years.

We turn on captions when they are available. However, he likes to watch DVDs of old movies and many of them have not been captioned.

[William Payer]

Stephen,

I have a slight hearing loss while my wife can hear a mouse fart at 30 yards. Watching tv can be problematic as the volumes I find comfortable are too loud for her. I purchased a pair of wireless Sennheiser headphones and everyone is happy now. The headphones actually make voices much clearer(even with no additional amplification) . I used to have difficulty understanding voice from the tv's speakers, but the headphones are great. I also use them to watch tv when everyone is sleeping or doing something quiet since the tv volume required to send the signal is very minimal. Oh, music from the tv is now much better and the stereo effect is dramatic. I cannot say enough about the positive aspects of wireless headphones.

[glenn bradley]

My friend is one of those hard of hearing who doesn't completely accept that he's hard of hearing and he won't wear headphones because he says they keep him from hearing whats going on (other than on the TV). The diplomatic solution needs to involve a speaker.

Or a single ear bud. Vanity would allow him to wear a small ear bud quicker than having a very obvious speaker box setting next to him I would think. However, we all know that logic does not always play into these scenarios. ;-) I am watching this thread with interest as LOML is hearing impaired (might explain how she stands me) and we are looking for a less bulky solution. Her vanity is not in play in this case, we just want something less cumbersome than the fully enclosed dual cup ear phones.

[Graham Wintersgill]

Does the TV have a headphone socket? if so then you can add a bluetooth audio sender and then pair it with a bluetooth speaker that he can locate that near him.

Regards

Graham

[Mark Major]

You can also get a system for any TV that has a stick-on pickup sensor that you stuck anywhere near a speaker on the TV that will remotely transmit the sound to earphones or ear buds. My Dad had one that was supplied by the DVA (Department of Veterans Affairs, here in Canada) that worked very well. Unfortunately, as his dementia progressed it became too much of a problem for him to use, but it was a great system.

Regards, Mark

[Gordon Eyre]

The Dish Network Hopper has a built in Bluetooth transmitter and it is a simple matter to use a Bluetooth headset. Your wife can adjust the volume without affecting your headset. Pretty slick for us hard of hearing types.