Hearing Aids & The TV, Still A Challenge?

We often hear that being able to hear the TV is a big problem and that there are a lot of arguments over the TV volume. Generally when people get a set of hearing aids they expect this problem to be solved, in all honesty, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Sometimes even with the best hearing aids available, the audio on tv can still be an issue.Widex (one of our hearing aid suppliers) commissioned  a study a few years ago in the UK on the audio quality in television shows. The research included everything from live broadcasts through films to soaps. It was found that the sound quality of television shows was mixed at best. It also found that the sound quality could be that bad, that people with normal hearing could have problems understanding dialogue. 

Sound Mixing Nightmares

In most cases the problem is the balance between the level of the volume of the dialogue and the volume of the background sound. It simply was not being mixed correctly so that the dialogue is the most audible thing. Sometimes the sound mix was that bad that people with normal hearing had difficulties understanding the dialogue. This meant that people with hearing loss had no chance even if they were wearing the best hearing aids available. After the study was released though, the TV companies in the UK realised they had a problem and have taken steps to fix it. Although that won't help much if there are competing sound sources in the room, like people talking. "What happened there?" " Who is he?" sweet Lord stop me from killing them! Yup, know how you feel.  Somebody speaking in the room can make it really difficult to hear the dialogue. Hey, this can be a problem even if you have normal hearing. The guys who make hearing aids have known this was a problem for a long time. When they invented wireless hearing aids, they decided to use them to so something that would help. 

Wireless Hearing Aids & TV 

Wireless communication in hearing aids delivers a lot of benefits, it allows them to communicate with each other, which delivers a better hearing solution for you. It also allows the hearing aids to communicate with other audio devices, allowing sound to be streamed directly into the hearing aids. How cool is that?

Most hearing aid manufacturers now offer wireless hearing aids and devices to deliver audio from TVs direct into the hearing aids. Widex introduced the TV-DEX a couple of years ago. It works with all of their wireless hearing aids. The TV-DEX base simply plugs into the back of the any TV or audio system or both. It takes two audio sources and you can switch between them. The base acts as a streamer for the audio and a charger for the remote device.

The separate remote device catches the audio and re-streams it instantly to your Widex Hearing aids. No time lag and no lip sync issues (which was a problem with earlier systems). The remote has a couple of buttons on it that allow you to turn the system on, turn the volume of the streaming audio up or down. The volume change just happens on the audio that is being streamed, so the TV volume in the room isn't affected, The TV volume could even be muted and you can still hear the audio in your hearing aids clearly at the volume you want.

You can switch between the separate audio streams you have attached and turn off the microphones in your hearing aids so you are just listening to the streamed audio. This delivers real benefit for hearing aid users, you can hear the TV clearly and set the volume to your own taste without upsetting anyone else. It also helps you hear the audio over any competing audio sources. If you want to talk to us about wireless hearing aids or accessory devices, or if you are looking for a hearing test in Dublin or across Ireland, give us a call 0n 1800 848 888 or come and see us at any one of our hearing aid centres in Dublin at Stillorgan and Fairview, Ardee & Letterkenny and clinics across Ireland.