Speech

[Chubbo]

Are any of you forum folks having problems hearing, and understanding certain, television programs? My wife, and I have noticed, that some TV programs, use slurred speech, very loud background noise, and loud music, etc., making it impossible for us "Old Poops" to understand the words the actors are speaking. It is very popular to have the actor to speak using an English accent, making the problem even worse. This trend started over a year ago, and has become increasingly pronounced, as time passed. To illustrate my point, when the commercial advertisements are presented, the actors use precise grammar, perfect diction, and, there is no loud annoying, noise, or music, and anyone can hear and understand, every word that is spoken. Strange? Sadly, all of my favorite TV shows, are the ones that are being programmed that way. The NCIS series of shows, and the show, Bluebloods, are all programmed that way. Is our society ashamed of our time proven American English language? Aren't there enough American accents to use? Is there anything that can be done about this revolting situation? If not, folks like my wife, and I, will have to give up, one of the few things remaining, for us to enjoy. Watching TV. I am sorry that my command of the American English language isn't better.
HELP!

Chubbo

 

[crazyphil]

You may have seen those MD hearing aids advertised in American
Rifleman and other places? I was having the kinds of problems that
you describe so I bought 2 of them. (One for each ear). $400 for the
pair and they work well. I think a lot of the problems you described
is our hearing, not the speakers speech. The aids clear thing up quite
well, at least for me.

 

[walkin jack]

I have been wearing hearing aids for 22 years. I really needed them much earlier. TV sound has been deteriorating all the while. The background music is way to loud. And when it comes to a critical scene the actor/actress drops their voice to a whisper for added dramatic effect, never stopping to think that they can not be heard by a large portion of the audience.

Hearing aids are available that can be paired to your TV so that the sound comes through your hearing aids. I have this and it has let me once again enjoy TV without blowing the glass out of all the windows in the house.

Also I would like to mention Zennheiser head phones They are wireless devices that hook up to your TV. They work great.

Good luck!

 

[chief38]

I would certainly not be surprised just how many on this Forum have a hearing loss of some magnitude - I know I do!

YES, aside from that fact, I HAVE noticed there are some movies lately that in order to hear the dialog I need to turn the volume up to the point that the background noise drives my Wife crazy. The solution is either to keep the remote in my hand to change volume quickly or lower the volume and turn on the closed caption feature. I do one or the other depending on how bad the situation is.

I have 5 TV's in my home and the one in the Kitchen on the counter is a cheap 23" Vizio. The reason I got the Vizeo instead of the one I really wanted is because the Samsung model was backordered in two places and I did not feel like driving all over that day. Since I was in Costco I picked up the Vizeo which has a descent picture but the sound is tinny and not terrific. One day I'll upgrade but the other problem is that my Kitchen is pretty big and the sound tends to echo a little in that room. The Porcelain tile floor, Granite Counter Tops and Marble Backsplash all reflect sound and make it even worse. I am a Jeopardy Junkie and only watch it after I recorded it so I can always go back and watch something I did not hear. Again, my hearing sucks!

 

[andy52]

I have what I would describe as distant interstate highway drone in my ears at all times, sort of a hissing. I have to have a fan running in the bedroom so it blocks out the noise so I can sleep. Crowded places with a lot of background noise make it difficult to pick out specific sounds. My wife when talking to me keeps telling me to go and get some hearing aids, I just smile and shake my head no then I get the stink eye which I don't need to hear to understand...

 

[LVSteve]

Yes, actors mumble and the background music is way too loud. The Dr Who relaunch was a major offender with the music.

As for the English accents, I have no problem for some reason.

 

[arjay]

We are all just deef and won't admit it ;-)
Darn sinus infection over the last month has my tinnitus hissing and ringing up a storm-bah humbug!

 

[Iggy]

A couple of close range serious social encounters left me with Tinnitus 40 years ago.
Hearing aids help but I still hear the Cicadas 24 hours a day.

 

[Gaffer]

Yes many of us old shooters have hearing problems but part of the problem is that the media and telephone companies don't have the same stringent quality on their transmissions as they once did. You can blame the deregulation of telephone company for that. The old Ma Bell used analog carrier and it was pure 300-3000 cycles, the voice band. Now all have gone to digital and it uses a completely different method for transmission and actually steals bits in the digital stream so the quality is no longer there. You only have to listen to call in radio to see the terrible distortion that now permeates all our communications.

 

[fiasconva]

You may be able to go into the settings on your tv and adjust the treble or bass until you can hear it better. Just try turning each one of them either up or down until you find out which setting works best for you. It may be a little trial and error until it works.

 

[Bullet Bob]

I know this is mostly age related, but I would like to see new technology applied to TV audio. I have a hard time watching football (or any sports) because the broadcasters never shut the heck up. Drives me crazy. Close game, crowd excited, the team that's behind is driving towards the goal, and some professional gum-flapper is talking about the kicker's grandmother's dog, or something. Most people must like it, I assume professionals at the networks know their audience. I'd love to just be able to select the sounds of the game.

Same with music, especially on documentaries. The sound of the wind on the prairie and the animals movements are plenty for me. I don't need to hear any man-made music.

I might just be a grumpy old man.

 

[Kurusu]

For some tme now I've been watching DVDs with the "hearing impaired" captions on. The funny thing is, I've noticed sometimes they don't match. I'm still not deaf.

 

[Chubbo]

Thanks All;
That's all good advice, I've tried it all, I have over $10,000. invested in hearing aid paraphernalia, more in all kind of speaker systems, headphones, and headphone systems. I admit to having hearing loss, my wife does't need hearing aid, but, she can't hear these programs ether. The fact remains, that the entertainment companies, have complete control of what you hear. I have perfect hearing when the commercial advertisements are being presented. Doesn't that seem a bit strange? What can be done about this situation? I would like to hear the voices of the actors, just as clearly, in the main programmed story, as I can in the commercial advertisements. I don't understand why this is done. all TV programs are not this way, just certain ones. HELP!

Chubbo

 

[WardenRoss]

Get one of these. Just plug it into the TV's headphone jack.

We love it! We got the power adapter and keep it plugged in by the end table.

It's designed for voice and works like a million dollars. I unplug it from the AC adapter and let it run on it's batteries whilst I grill out on the deck.

I cannot not brag enough on this thing. Best money I've spent in years. We just about leave the TV's volume off most the time.

I go back and watch old moves and I can hear all the dialogue. Unbelievable what I've been missing.

I think the modern TVs just don't have quality speakers anymore.

[ame="https://www.amazon.com/Serene-Innovations-Wireless-Listening-Speaker/dp/B00GXD4NWE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538436168&sr=8-4&keywords=serene+innovations+tv+soundbox+wireless+tv+speaker"]Amazon.com: Serene Innovations TV-SB Wireless TV Listening Speaker: Home Audio & Theater[/ame]

 

[H Richard]

I lost part of my hearing back in the 60's when I was a Jet Engine Mechanic in the USAF. Finally about 15 years ago I broke down and contacted the VA and got fitted for hearing aids. They make a tremendous improvement, especially with the Tinnitus (ringing in the ears== Mine sounds like an eruption of Cicadas).

 

[MRB1]

Hearing aids in both ears, and I still can't hear to my satisfaction. It takes time, but I sure dislike having them plugs in there. It's my reward for forty years of green jet engine runs, little hearing protection, and shooting - especially the darn 30 cal carbine Blackhawk.

 

[hittman77]

Typing this to you as someone who dropped $4,900.00 on hearing aids just 2 months ago ...... it's YOU not the TV. Okay .... a small part of it is how they work things on the TV but mostly it's you. Sorry.

You described almost word for word my "symptoms" .... people mumble, background noise too loud and on and on,

My hearing aids even allow me to kill background noise and raise and lower volume as needed. I tested them out the first week by going to a wedding reception. AMAZING!

Hate to admit it 'cause $4,900.00 would have bought a lot of guns and ammo but ...... mine was money WELL spent.

 

[handejector]

Huh? What did you say?

 

[Bekeart]

To illustrate my point, when the commercial advertisements are presented, the actors use precise grammar, perfect diction, and, there is no loud annoying, noise, or music, and anyone can hear and understand, every word that is spoken. Strange?

Not Strange - They know which message they think is most important for the viewer to understand.

Yes some of the problem is old ears. Background noise and music degrade listening clarity and intelligibility.

Bekeart

 

[BC38]

....The fact remains, that the entertainment companies, have complete control of what you hear. I have perfect hearing when the commercial advertisements are being presented. Doesn't that seem a bit strange?

Not strange at all.

A big part of the issue is that the commercials are several decibels LOUDER than the entertainment programming.

When I have the volume turned up high enough to hear the actors in a TV show, almost every commercial that comes on is so blasted loud it will blow your hair back (for those among us who still have hair anyway). And this is with a "smart TV" that supposedly has a feature to attenuate the volume for loud commercials.

What it boils down to is that they want to be ABSOLUTELY sure they get your attention when it comes time to give their pitch for whatever they happen to be hawking...