Some nights you want to go out and enjoy a nice dinner at Pacci’s Trattoria, while others you feel like staying in and watching your favorite TV show or a new movie at home.
If you have hearing loss, TV watching can be a bit more difficult, both for you and for any family members who have to deal with having the volume up extra loud. Thankfully, hearing aids can make watching TV a more relaxing and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
Hearing Loss and TV Listening Habits
Researchers curious about TV listening strategies for people with hearing loss surveyed participants about both their habits and difficulties when watching television. They interviewed those who used hearing aids as well as those who left their hearing loss untreated.
They found that hearing aid users indicated fewer difficulties when watching TV. However, only a small percentage of hearing aid users utilized audio streaming accessories. The majority of participants said that they turned up the volume on their TVs or hearing aids or relied on closed captioning to follow along with what they were watching.
Three Ways To Make TV Watching Easier With Hearing Aid Features
While using closed captioning and adjusting your hearing aid volume are two helpful strategies, many hearing aids have additional features to improve your TV-watching experience.
- Find the right hearing aid setting. Many hearing aids have settings that can minimize background noise and let you focus on the found in front of you. Talk with your audiologist about how to adjust your device to have an optimal TV-watching experience.
- Use telecoil. Many hearing aids are equipped with telecoil, a feature that lets you stream the sound from your TV directly into your hearing aids. This lets you cut out background noise and hear audio through custom settings that meet your specific hearing needs.
- Use Bluetooth®. Similarly, some hearing aids also have the ability to connect via Bluetooth and stream audio into your hearing aids. This is a great feature to use when watching TV with others, as the sound can play normally in the room as it is sent to your hearing aids. You can make adjustments on the corresponding hearing aid app you’ll need to download to your smartphone or tablet. This way you can change the volume for yourself while not affecting those around you.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with one of our hearing experts, contact Hearing Center Silver Spring today.