Yes, of course, I’m going deaf but my latest audiology test a few weeks ago was fine. I’ll need hearing aids eventually, but not now. I wonder though if the TV folks just mumble a lot. I just heard someone say (I read the closed captions, a few seconds after going “What?”) “The FBI was sober” and I thought he (Andrew Weissman) was attesting to their sobriety, which I assume is true, but he was saying that the FBI “was so burnt.” Similarly, Nicole Wallace said (I thought) that “Trump in his sanity interview said…” when she had said “…in his Hannity interview…”
This is actually close to what the audiology tests are like–the technician says “gavel” and waits to see if I heard “babble” and so on, so it’s possible my hearing has deteriorated in the last few weeks. But I prefer to think that they’re just mumbling.
A couple of years ago, we had a spate of these “mumbling” dramas in the UK. Apparently, some producers thought it made things more realistic. I don’t know if you get Poldark over there but it was probably the worst offender.
There was a considerable outcry about it and they see to have abandoned the stupid idea.
I have trouble with some movies and shows on various streaming services. I have to turn the volume up to understand the dialogue but then an action scene starts up and I’m deafened. This isn’t a problem for dialogue heavy video games.
I watch a lot of sports on TV and I am continually impressed with how clearly the announcers speak. The commercials, on the other hand, are a mixed bag. I have no idea why that is. And when I listen to Quirks & Quarks (a CBC science programs) the scientists being interviewed are frequently incomprehensible–even the ones without a foreign accent. I think it is something that can be learned, but some people don’t.
Yeah, well, my eyes are probably fine, but companies don’t want me to read their sites or emails anymore. Tiny grey print on gray/white/black background? Fuck off!
This is normally my experience. If you don’t have a surround sound setup, and the audio on your tv / dvr / dvd player / computer isn’t set up properly, all the dialog sounds ‘muddy’. For some reason, it seems to always try to default to the center channel.
If configuration checks don’t help, I’d consider a cheapish soundbar before buying a SS setup.
And a second to the notion that current ‘built in speakers’ for tvs, monitors, or the like are generally crap.
It’s not just you. Gen Z’s solution is to turn on CC. You should too.
While closed captioning was once a niche service used mostly by hard-of-hearing viewers, subtitles have seen an explosion in the streaming age; deaf-led charity Stagetext found in a 2021 survey that 80 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds use subtitles some or all of the time when watching TV on any device, and only 10 percent of those surveyed were deaf or hard of hearing. It also found that only 23 percent of those in the 56-75 age group use captions, despite a higher rate of hearing loss.
While we’re on about TV…
My wife and I are noticing a lot of new shows are really dark. As in lack of lighting and really dim. We’ve streamed the same shows on different TVs, and even on my kiddo’s TV in a different town with the same results. Are shows being filmed in a lower-light manner on purpose (for some effect), or is something else happening? FTR: Older shows appear fine to us.
Yep. I hear just fine but usually watch dramas with subtitles on.
In addition to the issues that the Vox article notes, I’ve noticed that some shows seem mixed for surround sound and are terrible on a regular two-speaker setup (e.g. two guys having a conversation in a cafe, and the background hubbub is actually drowning out the conversation).
I have been using subtitles for many years now, largely because I hate having the television volume very high. My standard is that a person sitting watching it should be able to hear it clearly, people in other rooms shouldn’t. Sometimes, if I want the subtitles off but it is some mumbly, modern drama, I listen using headphones. Even the worst dialogue is pretty clear then.
I watch TV with closed captions on, too, but NOT for live news shows. Closed caption companies just can’t translate correctly, and there is usually a lag. I’m 64 but don’t have hearing loss that is noticeable to me.
There IS more mumbling…and many scenes/shows are much darker.
A couple comments/suggestions:
I’ve worn hearing aids (three different models) for several years. I tell friends that they may benefit from hearing aids several years before they think that they need them. This is similar to when people put off wearing glasses or contacts until they truly can’t do everyday activities without them. As soon as I started having difficulty understanding spoken conversations (especially when the person I was talking to was turned away from me), I got my aids. They made an immediate and huge difference.
As far as TV sound, I’ve used the CC/SDH for many years. But you can also give yourself an advantage by using a soundbar or separate A/V receiver with true 3 or 3.1 speakers. Turn the center speaker way up and/or turn the left and right front speakers way down. Most of the distracting sounds are in the left or right speakers (background noise in restaurant scenes, ambient noise, etc.) Forget about using the speakers built into the TV.
I have tried several BT headphones, but I quickly determined that it is most important to get the center channel sound louder. While I could adjust my TV slightly to improve intelligibility with stereo headphones, they really didn’t do the job for me. Furthermore, I found that they did not work well when I’m wearing my aids.
Reminder: I wear hearing aids and have difficulty with speech even in perfect conditions.
