TV Watching – A Social Activity Too

To hear the TV audio, I use both assistive listening technology, which works with a telecoil and more recently a Bluetooth transmitter. If I’m using assistive listening technology, it’s difficult to carry on a conversation without turning off the assistive listening device. It’s frustrating because I have to turn the system off to talk and then I have to turn it back on to watch the show.

When using Bluetooth, I'm supposed to be able to turn the audio streaming program on and off with manual controls on my hearing aids, except it doesn't always work. If the controls don't work, then that means I've got to pull out my phone, open the app and connect my hearing aids. That can take 30 seconds or longer. And in that time, I can lose my train of thought.

Sporting events are even worse. My husband just loves having people over. Last year, we had people in our house watching football every Sunday. I would just sit on the side and concentrate on listening to the game, because I really couldn't hear what everyone was saying, much less hear the conversation while also trying to listen to the game. Occasionally, I’d understand something that was being said but basically, I couldn't participate in the conversation, which is so frustrating.