Why can’t I hear my TV clearly?
“The sound and music are 50 per cent of the entertainment in a movie” so said Star Wars creator George Lucas! It’s unlikely that he was thinking about the television in your front room when he said it though.
The problem, is flatscreen TVs themselves. We all want a nice new telly to be as elegant as possible – but that makes the job of getting great sound out of it almost impossible. There’s just nowhere in that big, flat, glass-and-plastic frame to fit worthwhile speakers of a decent size – and so the sound your TV makes is weedy and thin in 95% of makes and models
Nowadays some TV manufacturers have started fitting bespoke audio systems to their sets, though these TVs tend to come at quite a cost!
So, what can we do to help ourselves hear TV more clearly?
- Check the settings. Most TV settings will have an audio menu where you can adjust the sound quality, I would advise that selecting the “Speech” or “Clear voice” setting in the audio menu will often make a big difference.
- If you have the option, then turn down the bass and raise the treble. This will give a cleaner, sharper sound.
- Consider the placement of the set, too close or too far from a wall will often impact the sound quality.
- I am a big fan of soundbars to improve clarity! If you have the space, then a sound bar can be expected to deliver the sound of the show in the way it was planned.
By trying out these adjustments you should have improved your listening experience greatly!
If you still find that you are struggling to hear TV clearly then I would love to welcome you for a free hearing screening at one of my clinics. A 15-minute check will give you better understanding of how well you are hearing many sounds, not just TV.
