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Age related hearing decline

  • 16 December 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 50 views

Like many people my age (74), I have age related hearing decline mostly in high frequencies. I have Sonos one speakers, usually driven by an iPhone or iPad. I find that neither the Apple equalizer or the Sonos equalizer together make speech interpretable. Any suggestions?  Music is fine, but listening to speech on movies or TV is not.

There is a large market out there of people in my situation. Are there any Sonos speaker said have more intense high frequencies?  So far, the cheap speakers in my television seem to work the best but I can only get the high frequencies so high. I've used PSAP (hearing aids you dispense yourself) and they all have adequate high frequencies. So I know it's physically possible. I hate to put on a hearing aid just to watch TV since I'm the only one watching. Any suggestions?

2 replies

@Bill P 

Firstly, sorry to hear you have age-related hearing issues. I’m not sure Sonos, or any other TV soundbar manufacturer is going to provide a long-term answer here, but there are ‘other’ options available, as mentioned in the randomly chosen links below gleaned from a Google search, which you may want to explore further yourself, but there maybe no getting away from the hearing aid, or headphones etc; particularly if the device EQ adjustments are not helping and your hearing perhaps could also decline further, over time…

  • https://www.hearingbalance.com/resources/guide-to-watching-listening-to-tv-with-hearing-aids/
  • https://www.el-well.com/devices-to-hear-tv-better/
  • https://www.wikihow.com/Hear-TV-Sound-Without-Blasting-Everyone-Else-Out

At the very least, I would consider first seeking expert medical advice and see what the ‘professionals’ can suggest may work best for you and your own personal situation.

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Sonos seems to have an issue with their TV speakers with a weak center channel and being able to hear the dialog well. They have noted that but no fix has been mentioned.

I found many of the hearing aids out there are inadequate in adjust-ability until you get to unafordable ones. Costco and Sam’s have some very good low-cost options, I’m wearing a set now.

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