Can a TV Listening Device Improve Your Marriage?

Possibly.

The makers of Energizer batteries recently conducted a survey in conjunction with Better Speech & Hearing Month in May, with some very interesting results. The survey included over 1,000 men and women between the ages of 44 and 62, who have a spouse that suffers from some degree of hearing loss. Almost half (48%) of those respondents felt that their marriage had suffered to some degree, due to their spouse's hearing loss!

(You can view the original article on a web sight they have devoted to their "Keep Going, Live Healthy" campaign by clicking here.)

The point is this - the individual with the hearing loss is not the only one who suffers. Most often, the spouse shares the pain.

I have a co-worker that has endured mild to moderate hearing loss for years (but refuses to wear hearing aids), so in order to hear the television in the evening he would simply crank up the volume to a level that most of us would find just plain irritating. That's fine if you're the only one home but his wife found it - well, just plain irritating! His next step was to try to use "noise canceling" headphones (the type that covers the entire ear), which worked fine except that he had to contend with the connection cable and was unable to hear anything else in the house (such as the phone, doorbell, tornado sirens or his wife). In fact, she once referred to them as "wife canceling headphones"!)

I suggested he give "TV Ears" a try.

So, what are TV Ears? Think of them as a wireless headset that connects to your television, except that they use a very proprietary noise reduction technology (originally developed for US Air Force pilots) that allows the user to hear the television with a great deal of clarity at a volume that does not interfere with other people in the room. The TV Ears user controls the volume of each ear individually (as well as the tone and balance), independently of the main TV controls. So others can adjust the television to their liking (even to the point of "muting" it), without affecting the user. There are different models designed to work with various types of televisions, and installation is simple. To view the different models and help determine which model is right for your type of television, click on this link. If you still have questions, call HealthConnection at 1-800-838-8367 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm eastern time. They can help guide you through the process and help with any other questions you might have.

After he head been using them for a week or so, I asked my co-worker how he liked the TV Ears. He said that it took a couple of days to get used to having the tips actually inside of his ear, but now that he is used to it he would never go back to the old headphones. He said that the ability to adjust everything to his personal needs made them great, and that he can finally hear the shows he'd been missing. More importantly, his wife can control the TV volume, and even carry on phone conversations and hear the doorbell.

I think she likes them more than he does!