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Sonos Beam and TV Hearing Aid BT Combo No Longer Working

  • May 19, 2022
  • 13 replies
  • 890 views
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My 2017 Samsung TV uses HDMI ARC for my Beam. For my hearing aids I used a Sigma Streamline BT hearing aid transmitter (connected to TV optical out) worked flawlessly together for years--audio from both Beam and Sigma hearing aids.

Then the VA replaced my hearing aids with Phonak ones and provided me with a Phonak Connect transmitter that is connected to same TV optical out port. Now when I turn everything on I get the TV sound but 2 sec later Any-net+ disconnects the sound (regardless of which source I select).

What is really odd, is that when working with the old Streamline transmiter as before, the optical output wasn’t even selected when in use. In the Samsung TV settings, the sound setting selected used was “Receiver (HDMI)”.

These are the current TV settings:

Sound/Select speaker=Receiver (HDMI)

Sound/ Expert settings/HDMI Audio Format = PCM

Sound/ Expert settings/Audio Format = PCM

System/Expert Settings/AnyNet + (HDMI-CEC) = ON

Phonak support didn’t have any suggestions.

The new hearing aids won’t work with the Signa transmitter, so for now I’m stuck. Any ideas?

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13 replies

Airgetlam
  • Airgetlam
  • May 19, 2022

Try turning off the AnyNet setting? There may have been an update to the OS of your Samsung that turns off the optical output when CEC (AnyNet) is turned on.  

Not 100% sure on this, but it might work for you.

Bruce
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I turned Anynet+ (HDMI - CEC) OFF and selected Sound/select Speaker=Bluetooth and then Connect and got the sound in thr hearing aids fine but it dropped the Sonos sound off. Rats, pretty frustrating.  Surey there is some was to make this work.

ratty
  • ratty
  • May 21, 2022

Use the TV optical for both the hearing aid transmitter and the Beam (through the Sonos optical/HDMI dongle). That way the TV has no idea, and won’t interfere.

You should ideally use a powered optical splitter, but may be able to get away with a passive Y splitter. 

The Beam volume will obviously need to be controlled using an infra-red remote, not via the TV’s CEC. 

Wuastr
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Thanks.

So I would disconnect the Sonos beam to TV ARC HDMI cable?

ratty
  • ratty
  • May 21, 2022

So I would disconnect the Sonos beam to TV ARC HDMI cable?

Yes. The HDMI cable would instead connect to the Sonos optical-HDMI adapter.

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I now have the powered optical splitter which as one optical in and two optical out. So connections would be:

  1. TV optical out to splitter #1 port IN
  2. One splitter optical OUT to Sonos Beam HDMI IN via Sonos HDMI to optical dongle.
  3. Second plitter optical OUT to Phonak Connect hearing aid BT transmitter IN.

That’s a lot of connections so check above and let me know if all looks good.

 

ratty
  • ratty
  • May 25, 2022

That’s correct (and it’s hardly a ‘lot’ of connections). 

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OK, all connections work and when I turned AnyNet (CEC) off both devices (Sonos and Hearing Aids have sound). But, can’t control volume with Sonos app, Directv or TV controls. Any ideas?

Ken_Griffiths

OK, all connections work and when I turned AnyNet (CEC) off both devices (Sonos and Hearing Aids have sound). But, can’t control volume with Sonos app, Directv or TV controls. Any ideas?

See this link to setup the IR TV remote…

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3402

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Had success using the optical splitter install and Anynet settings as suggested by Airgetlam, Ratty and Ken Griffiths, Thanks so much for taking the time to walk me through this. 

I’m using the Sonos app volume control for the sound level now but will try to find an IR remote to see if I can get that going. Thanks again all.

Airgetlam
Ken_Griffiths
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  • M55
  • Lyricist I
  • February 15, 2023

I have a similar problem as discussed in this thread.  I want to use my new Phonak TV Connector with my hearing aids and my new Sonos Arc sound bar connected by HDMI to a new LG GP2 TV through its HHDMI Arc port is used with the sound bar on the TV automatically uses that port, and that port only.  As a result no signal goes through the optical out port of the LG TV.

Is there a way to make this work?  Ideally by having the TV provide sound signal though the optical port as well as the HDMI Arc port.

Appreciate any guidance.

I

I was successful following advice from the kind contributors above: Not sure how far along you are in your testing but read those and the Sonos article above also. The device I used is the optical splitter from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D1KHWGB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&th=1

This splits my Samsung optical out into two  signals.

 

Frank

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  • Bobbenedetti
  • Lyricist I
  • March 21, 2024

If you are prepared to give up Dolby Atnos on the Beam and the neat features of CEC this looks OK.

What’s wrong with using the TV remote to switch audio outputs as needed leaving Sonos connected to arc/hdmi and CEC on and use a simple fibre cable to connect theTV device.

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