Alternative audio devices for those with poor hearing

[penmore]

I have hearing aids in both ears. I have to wear hearing aids most of the day because my hearing is so bad. I occasionally suffer from ear irritation caused by the ear plugs that are part of my hearing aids.


I have recently tried to give my ears a ‘break’ because of soreness caused by the ear plugs and have been using headphones ( Bluetooth & RF ). I have now tried two of the Bluetooth receivers/transmitters but I have found that the volume levels ( both 3.5 jack & SPDIF connections ) on one device are very poor and the other similar device, the audio latency is just not acceptable.


I have reverted back to my RF Wireless headphones but these just cannot cope with the poor audio output from movies such as Luther ( which doesn’t have sub-titles either). All devices are connected to my TV via HDMI and the optical and audio connections are made from my LG TV.


Can anyone suggest any other alternative solutions for me when I need to rest my ears through plug irritation.

 

[noiseboy72]

It sounds like you might need some processing before the transmission to improve (or at least customise for your hearing loss) the audio. Something like this: Behringer SU9920 Sonic Ultramizer Stereo Sound Enhancement Processor at Gear4music can be used to add more punch to the sound, but you may be better with some compression, to level the audio to a more acceptable dynamic range. In that case, this: Behringer SPL3220 Stereo Multiband Sound Processor at Gear4music might be better.

In both cases, you are doing what commercial radio stations do to make their station sound louder than others. You are applying multiband compression so that dynamics are limited. This helps dialogue stand out over the explosions and makes music sound tighter and louder.

A good Bluetooth transmitter with APTX will give you a better dynamic range and some AKG NC60s or similar are comfortable to wear for longer periods.

 

[noiseboy72]

Another thought...

If you have or acquire a surround system, there's usually a mode - called Dual Stereo that enables the rear surround speakers to replicate the front pair. If they are set near to your normal seating position, you can adjust the level of them to give you your own personal nearfield monitoring. I do this when the Father in Law visits, as he is quite deaf and he finds he can hear the TV over people chatting without having the general volume so loud that the rest of us are shouting over the TV to be heard!!

 

[penmore]

It sounds like you might need some processing before the transmission to improve (or at least customise for your hearing loss) the audio. Something like this: Behringer SU9920 Sonic Ultramizer Stereo Sound Enhancement Processor at Gear4music can be used to add more punch to the sound, but you may be better with some compression, to level the audio to a more acceptable dynamic range. In that case, this: Behringer SPL3220 Stereo Multiband Sound Processor at Gear4music might be better.

In both cases, you are doing what commercial radio stations do to make their station sound louder than others. You are applying multiband compression so that dynamics are limited. This helps dialogue stand out over the explosions and makes music sound tighter and louder.

A good Bluetooth transmitter with APTX will give you a better dynamic range and some AKG NC60s or similar are comfortable to wear for longer periods.

@noiseboy72 Thank you very much for your helpful reponse. I will look into these two products and will probably purchase the second.