Are you struggling to listen to dialog on your television? Or maybe you just purchased a new expensive set of hearing aids only to find they don’t help you as much as you were expecting when watching TV?

Sitting in front of the television to enjoy a movie with a loved one should be an enjoyable experience—not a struggle for who controls the volume button. If you are one of the 48 million Americans with hearing loss, you may find that watching TV is becoming more of a challenge than a pleasure.

In the article below, we’ll map out the problems and solutions to TV listening when you have a hearing loss and hearing aids—or even if you don’t have a hearing problem.

First things first: Why is listening to TV difficult?

People with hearing loss often struggle to understand the dialogue on television shows and movies, particularly if they have background music and sound effects— think action movies with car chases or whispered voices amongst suspenseful background music. For hearing aid and cochlear implant (CI) users, the experience may be no better, and you may find that your hearing aids don't pick out the voices, making trying to follow your favorite TV show a frustrating task.

There are several reasons for difficult TV listening, as Matthew Allsop points out in the video below:

• Poor speakers - The speakers in high-tech flatscreen TVs have less sound quality than old television sets because they are relatively flat and very confined in physical space—limiting their fidelity and sound clarity (most TV manufacturers also sell sound bars and systems separately);
• Poorly positioned speakers - Not only might the sound quality be poorer, but the speakers can be located on the side or back of the TV—meaning the sound has to bounce off a couple of surfaces and may become distorted before reaching your ears, and
• Sound engineering not optimized for living room - Many movies (especially big-budget releases) were not sound-engineered for a television audience but rather for the much different environment and audio tech of a movie theater; in many cases, the sound isn’t re-engineered for a typical living room.

Usually, one base unit can deliver sound to multiple headsets, which the user can control independently. Some TV headphones boast large ranges, with wireless transmission up to 100 ft, meaning you can walk around your house while still listening to your favorite TV show or movie.

Although not specifically designed for it, several hearables can also be helpful for TV watching (e.g., see the Pocketalker and Smarto devices below), as can some OTC hearing aids.

Check out:

• TV Ears
• EarTech TV and Audio 
• Sennheiser TV Clear 
• Avantree TV listening sets
• Williams Sound Pocketalker Ultra
• Behear smarto

8) Turn on the closed captions

Last, but certainly not least, enabling closed captions on your TV allows you to hear and read the speech on TV shows and movies—meaning you don't miss any key auditory information.

Since 2006, Congress has required all digital televisions with screens over 13" to offer closed captioning. Additionally, since 2012, cable operators, satellite distributors, and online providers are also required to provide closed captioning, after the National Association for the Deaf sued Netflix for failing to do so.

By law, captions must be complete, accurate, in time with the dialogue and sound, and placed so as not to obscure important visual information.

When watching TV shows, look for the button on your remote control, with a CC icon. You can toggle to captions on and off. Another way of enabling closed captions on your TV is to enter the TV settings and select “closed captions,” which may be in the “display” sub-menu. When accessing video content on streaming services like Netflix or Prime Video, look for the Closed Caption or Subtitles icon or the captions menu.

If you have teenagers in your house, you probably know that closed captions aren't just for people with hearing loss either! Younger people widely use them. In fact, one study by UK captioning charity, Stagetext, found that 4 out of 5 viewers aged between 18 and 25 said they use captions “all or part of the time.” One of the main reasons for this is not for hearing difficulties, but rather for viewing TV while simultaneously doing something else—such as scrolling on their phone. Captions allow viewers to quickly flick their eyes up to read ahead and then look back down at their phone. Furthermore, young directors and designers are normalizing captions by creating plays with captions built into the sets as an integral part of the artistic vision of a piece.

AR captioning glasses are also increasingly becoming available that can project the dialog right onto the inside of your lenses, transcribing words in real-time.

Auracast is (almost) here

We'd probably be remiss if we didn't mention the new Bluetooth specification, Bluetooth 5.2, that will provide higher-quality audio with less latency (delay) in wireless streaming and multichannel connectivity. The new Auracast™ broadcast audio system uses this new specification and will link Bluetooth hearing aids, CIs, and earbuds to public address systems and any other Auracast-enabled transmitters—including TVs—through your Bluetooth-compatible smartphone, tablet, or computer. This will also make it easy for you to listen to TVs in any public venue (e.g., bar, restaurant, airport) by simply finding the right audio stream and tuning into it, much the same as you can now find wi-fi channels for wireless connectivity.

The good news is the technology exists and should greatly expand audio streaming for all compatible devices; the bad news is we won't likely see it rolled out and in widespread usage for several years. So stay tuned!

What will you try first?

With all these options for improving your television hearing and viewing experience, there’s no reason to struggle to understand the dialogue of television shows and movies. Why not give these suggestions a try and see what works best for you? 

If you are unsure about what's best for your audio needs, speak to your hearing care provider for more information and discuss your options.

Also, we're sure there are other clever ways to access TV audio using hearing aids, CI, and other devices. If you have a favorite we haven't covered, please chime in with it below in the comments section!