Wireless headphones for tv

Nomad25

Can anyone tell me or recommend a pair of the above for an almost deaf relative.

Has a pair of Panasonic which are ok but when in use they cut tv volume out for family.

Ideally need a set that can bump up tv volume for personal [hard of hearing] listening, but allows rest of family to listen at normal volume.

Are such things available?

[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]

Baldur

Don't know if this will help but the subject has been discussed on the RNID forums - http://www.rnid.org.uk/community/forums/products/budget_headsets_for_tv_/

Errata

If your relative, or you, contact your local social work team for deaf people they'll assess and loan the most suitable. Or pass you onto your local organisation who have responsibility for providing technical equipment. Whichever one, it's a free service and free loan.

googler

If the deaf person tends to occupy the same chair on a regular basis, you could -

Find a TV that has 'audio out' sockets (twin phonos, not a headphone socket) - these will output audio at a fixed level, regardless of the TV volume. The current TV may have these already. If it has a SCART output socket, you can get SCART-Phono adaptors.

Feed these audio outputs via a long phono lead to an ordinary HiFi amplifier, which DOES have a headphone socket, and which can sit next to the favoured chair. You can also connect CD player, tuner etc to this so that they can listen to their own audio whilst you watch the TV

Plug headphones into the amplifier, and the deaf person can control his/her volume independently of the rest of the room.

Easily achievable quite cheaply. You can also buy stand-alone headphone amplifiers that will do the same job. I'm sure wireless headphones could be connected to the HiFi amplifier to give flexibility of movement (different chair every time?).

googler

Hope this helps, if you need me to expand, just ask.

Savvy_Sue

I believe you can also get portable induction loops which - if the person has a T setting on their hearing aids - can be fitted around a chair etc.

But as Errata says, getting in touch with the local social services should mean a full assessment of needs and what would meet them.

googler

The core problem here is getting independent volume control for those in the room, and for the headphone listener. I'll wager 99.9% of the wireless solutions out there will be ones that are designed for one person use, i.e. the wireless sender plugs into a headphone socket, thus cutting off any speaker output, as described here.

The OP needs to avoid using anything which connects to the headphone socket on the TV, and needs to use fixed-level audio outputs as described above.

If they could tell us the make and model of TV, and the model of wireless headphones currently in use?

barbinabox

I have a Sony Bravia flat screen TV and use Philips wireless headphones. Sony TVs have an option in the audio set up menu - 'headphone link ON or OFF' Setting this to off allows 'deaf lugs' me and 'can hear a pin drop' hub to watch happily together.
I hope this helps.

baloffski

You can get personal amplifiers which transmit via an induction loop to hearing aids on the T setting. My mother was referred to a local charity by the NHS and they came out assessed her needs and gave her such a system.

The amp has it's own volume and tone controls and the only downside is the inbuilt mic will pick up every sound including clothes rustling when the wearer moves. It can be hooked directly into TV's etc using a 3.5 mm jack.

A very sensible warning was given by the charity lady, as mum lives alone she was advised to use the loop system with only one hearing aid in the T position when in direct from the TV mode as it will cut out all other ambient sound such as telephone and door bells etc.

I am not sure if you can mention companies etc., by name but the charity which helped were Cheshire Deaf Society who are at dsnonline.co.uk and the makers of the personal induction loop are Sarabec at sarabec.com (I am a new poster so can't put full links in)

Hope this helps

pat100

I am guessing that the problem is annoyingly simple. When you push the plug into the TV socket it pushes apart two contacts which cuts the signal to the TV speakers. It's designed that way. (NOTE: you must not take the back off a glass tube type telly even if it is unplugged. It can still kill you!)

The solution (as stated above) is not to use that socket. Look in the TV handbook to see if there are any other audio outputs (eg for AMP or EXT speakers) and connect to those instead. You might need an adapter. Or (as suggested above) possibly use a SCART adapter with an audio output - hopefully with a 3.5 mm socket or you will still need an adapter.

Usually searching online will find adapters far, far cheaper than in the shops.

It is very unlikely to be the headphones at fault.

(You might even find that just pushing the plug only part way into the TV headphone socket gives a partial solution!)

If you are tight-fisted like me you can maybe find new Philips Infra-Red headphones with rechargable batteries (and transmitter!) at £10 or below. They have no wire to the headphones - but the transmitter still needs to be plugged in to the TV. So long as the user is happy to stay in the same room as the TV, "infra-red" is as good as, or better than, "wireless".

If you tell us the make and model of the telly you may get more specific help.

Nomad25

Well .............. I knew you 'guys' would have the gen on this. MSE'rs certainly are fountains of knowledge.

All replies so helpful. Thanks everyone. I don't know the make of tv, it's a great hefty archaic monster, I'll try to persuade relative to splash out on an modern model + DVD [only got a video player at the moment!]. Family gatherings may be a bit less fraught and a tad more harmonious in the future

Googler - wow, you sound knowledgeable, sorry most of it is above my head. I guess until you have to incorporate something like this into daily life [as many do] it's a case of ignorance is bliss. Baldur - that link was magic, how stupid of me not to think of it. So useful, have sent of application, so relative can join.

If and when everyone's suggestions can be diplomatically implemented, I'll post again. Think I will have to use the slowly, slowly catchy monkey technique!