Will a soundbar help me? (struggling to hear TV dialogue)

Olinda99

Sorry to repeat my post but you would (both?) benefit from a hearing test to establish what frequencies are down - until you do this you are just guessing.

Boots etc audiologists are pretty good and have seen it all before and would be able to offer you the best advice going forward.

mobileron

NHS even better and hearing aid is free.

millie

i had exactly the same probably had a hearing test at my doctors, done by Scrivens who told me I needed a hearing aid, something about the hairs in your ears as you get older. I was very resistant but thought its free I do not need to use it if I do not like it,  It is wonderful do not have a problem with clarity of speech anymore. I only tend to use it when watching the television. I have had it for 3 years and just had it replace with a new one that is even better. Apparently it has only just been bought into use on the NHS and there are different settings for indoor and outdoor, there are settings for noise filter and speech clarity. Best of all I can control it and alter the settings on my smart phone and use it most of the time now.

matelodave

I had my hearing checked six years ago and ended up with one aid in my right ear. It was rechecked three years ago and now I've got two. All done on the NHS by my local Specsavers who I have to say are very professional.

They do make a tremendous difference, especially when listening to the TV and I just put them in in the morning an take them out at night. They are really comfortable and I dont' always remember if I've got them in or not, but my wife does and I do need them for the TV

Even better I can nip into Specsavers and pick up the batteries for free. One aid packed up a couple of weeks ago and Specsavers just replaced it and told me that the NHS had started using a a more modern aid a couple of months ago and advised me to get a retest in October and I should be able to get the latest aids which are much better.

Sandtree

millie said:

i had exactly the same probably had a hearing test at my doctors, done by Scrivens who told me I needed a hearing aid, something about the hairs in your ears as you get older.

In most cases its hair like structures in your inner ear (they actually stereocilia) and the cell they grow from... these dont regenerate and so either from listening to sustained loud noises or more just a lifetimes collection of exposure to noise they get damaged and so your hearing worsens.

onejontwo

I tried a Bowfell sound bar which was recommended on The Gadget Show and for less than £40 it made a significant difference. Also it's easy to set up.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07YTZTCFP?tag=reexcouk-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 

Diver22

This my problem too. However I’ve got some hearing loss which isn’t so bad it needs hearing aids. I struggle with some frequencies and particularly American speech.A sound bar has helped me. The speech is clearer so I guess the TV speakers are just not good quality. I also use subtitles if necessary. And sometimes the person speaking with a voice of a particular frequency means I don’t have any problems.

I would recommend a JBL sound bar. Good quality, good sound, and relatively cheap. I paid less than £150, it syncs perfectly, has Bluetooth, so it can connect to my headphones if I want and comnnects to my TV via either an arc connection or an optical cable and on arc doesn’t require a separate controller.