Anyone have experience with TV Ears or a similar device?
[OP]
Contributor
Anyone have experience with TV Ears or a similar device?
Contributor
Dave,
I don't have experience with TV Ears but I do have experience with cordless headphones that connect with tvs. I am deaf, hearing bimodel, with the aid of a cochlear implant on my left ear and a hearing aid on my right ear. One thing I have noticed is the better the acoustic environment, the better the quality of what I hear. In retirement, my wife needs several hours more sleep than I. So, in the morning, I listen to the morning news using my cordless headphones. Recently we needed to buy a couple new television as we went from cable to satellite and wanted a Smart tv with digital input which neither of our two televisions had. With the old tvs, I used cordless headphones that had a base and an audio cable plugged into the tv and the base while I wore the cordless headphones. In fact, it worked so well, I ended up buying 3 sets placing one in the livingroom, one in the basement family room and one set in my shop so I could enjoy music while woodworking. With the purchase of the 2 new tvs, neither had an analog output so I bought two cordless headphones that connect via Bluetooth. They work quite well for me. The brand I have is Sennheiser.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
Contributor
I bought a Sharper Image set. The transmitter runs off of a USB charger. The input is either a phono jack or an optical connection.Originally Posted by Dave Fritz
After having one for years, I thought of getting a replacement just in case of failure. Home Depot had them on close out so two more were purchased.
I use the optical input on our TV and the phono jack on the computer.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sharper+i..._ts-doa-p_3_20
jtk
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I tried those and I thought that they were tinny sounding I got a set of sony head phones that sound good
Contributor
If it's in your budget, I would strongly suggest getting a set of Bose or Sony Bluetooth enabled headphones. Any modern TV will have Bluetooth. You simply connect the headphones to the TV Bluetooth, and boom, you've got amazing sound right at your ears. What's really nice about such headphones is they are very comfortable and you can watch an entire TV show or movie without getting sore ears. Good headphones are expensive, but they are well worth it.
[OP]
Contributor
Maybe I wasn't clear. I have an LG smart TV and use a Bose headset via Bluetooth when I watch TV alone. My wife and I like to watch some things together and when the volume is so I can hear it, it's too loud for her. When it's just right for her, it's too low for me. LG is supposed to be able to transmit both at the same time with separate controls but I'm unable to find out how to do that. After searching numerous LG support sites I've come to the conclusion many other's have, it simply doesn't work. For me, the only downside to LG. TV Ears plays the TV's sound, while having the TV sound selected so each can have their own controls. After 53 years of marriage, that's a good thing.
Contributor
Lots of doo-dads you can get these days for "coupling" devices. I have the digital optical output of my LG into a optical to analog composite (red and white stereo) sound which then goes to a little FM transmitter box. I just use a portable FM radio with the earbuds for the sound.
If you have an optical input to a sound system in the same room you could use it for your wife and I presume it will still give optical output when you are using the LG Bluetooth.
Member
Why not just tape some thick muffling fabric over the TV speakers? Would that work?
Last edited by Andrew Joiner; 01-25-2024 at 10:27 AM.
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Dave, my wife of 55 years and I have dramatic differences in hearing. I adjust the volume on my headset for my listening ability and my wife adjusts the volume of the tv speaker for her listening comfort.
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
[OP]
Contributor
Thank you Ken, that's what I'd like to be able to do, however I can't figure out how to do both Bluetooth and tv speaker on my LG tv. Every support option seems to be a dead end with many saying it can't be done. With the new smart TV's there isn't much of a manual. I suppose you're supposed to search the internet for answer's to questions. I'm getting a pair of digital TV ears and I'll use that and my wife can use the tv remote for volume. Essentially the same and you folks only I won't be using Bluetooth.
Contributor
If you're not using the TV's optical audio output, you might try adding a Bluetooth adapter there. My cheap upstairs Visio doesn't even have B/T, so I got one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QV77YIC. The neat bit is that (at least on that set), the optical output assumes that the receiver is handling volume control, so the TV speakers can be set to any desired volume (in my case "mute") independent of the B/T headphone volume.
Last edited by Lee DeRaud; 01-25-2024 at 4:36 PM.
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On my LG, and probably most if not all TVs, the Optical/Digital output is like a fixed what was/is called Line output and the level remains the same regardless of the TV's speaker volume setting.
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Yup. It also has the advantage that the TV can't tell whether it's connected or not, so there aren't any unwanted side effects. The typical 1/8" analog audio jack on most TVs will turn off the speakers if a plug is inserted, which is less than useful in this context.
Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
"Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.
Contributor
Audio out on our Samsung TV is independent of the speaker volume setting.
We tried many solutions for my mom, and now my wife and found that RF headphones worked much better than IR-based ones (bluetooth is a type of RF, but with much shorter range), and that, for better or worse, the expensive in-ear Sennheiser set that we ended up with worked an order of magnitude better than the cheaper ones in terms of improving the listening experience; much better clarity. My mom thought it was a miraculous improvement over the "TV Ears" brand she had before. The set my wife uses now has been discontinued, but there's probably an equivalent.
Contributor
You guys are probably aware of it, but just in case not, Medicare will now pay for very good hearing aids. My dad's hearing aids were decent, but he still couldn't hear much. My favorit exchange went like this:
We were driving to the airport and passed a big construction site.
Dad: What's are they building there?
Me: It's a new, gated community.
Dad: A gay community?
After that, I strongly encouraged Dad to get some better hearing aids. He went to his hearing specialist and she told him Medicare would pay for better hearing aids. Apparently, manufacturers agreed to lower their prices knowing they would sell a LOT of hearing aids through Medicare. It took a while to get them and then get them dialed in, but he can hear much better. Although, he's not nearly as funny now.
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