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HEARING AIDS, LOOP SYSTEMS You probably know that hearing aids are smaller and more powerful than a few years ago. Newer models can also make a big difference with televisions because they

have built-in Bluetooth connectivity, which means they are designed to pick up sound from digital devices — usually smartphones for calls. Unless your smart TV has built-in Bluetooth, what’s

required is a small Bluetooth streaming box or adapter, as low as $13, that connects to the TV and acts as a middleman of sorts. Whenever you’re within range of the transmitter, about 33

feet on average, you’ll be able to hear the television in your hearing aids — loud, clear and without any echoes or delays. You can even adjust the TV’s volume independently from others in

the room via a small remote or an app on your phone or tablet. If a call comes in when you’re watching TV, choosing to answer it will switch you from the TV’s audio to that of your

smartphone or a Bluetooth cordless phone. When you hang up, the sound switches back to the TV. Another option is a loop system, sometimes called an audio induction loop, that gets its power

from a wireless magnetic field generated by a small hub plugged into the audio output of a television. A loop worn around the listener’s neck, compatible hearing aids or cochlear implant

processors then can pick up that audio. It is a different technology from Bluetooth, and a compatible hearing aid needs to have a telecoil (t-coil) to access the sound that a loop system

transmits. CLOSED CAPTIONING: REQUIRED SINCE 2006 However you choose to improve your TV’s sound, turning on its closed captioning option can help you catch even more of what’s being said on

screen. Congress has required that all television programs display audio content as text on screen since 2006. Cable operators, satellite distributors and online providers are also required

to provide closed captioning. According to the law, such captions need to be accurate, matching the spoken words and background noises to the greatest extent possible; synchronous,

coinciding with the spoken words and sounds to the fullest extent possible; complete, running from the beginning of the program to the end; and properly placed, not blocking other important

visual information on screen or running off the edge of the screen. Perfect Your Home Theater Setup ADDITIONAL TOOLS TO HELP YOU HEAR MOVIE DIALOGUE If you struggle to understand the

dialogue when watching a movie from your couch, hearing loss may not be the problem. Instead, how that film’s audio was created could be what’s frustrating you. In theaters, different sounds

are played through different speakers, with the dialogue projected from a center channel for clarity. Most television sound systems aren’t built that way. So, if you’re tired of riding the

remote — turning up the volume for dialogue and then turning it down for action scenes or music swells — you have two other options in addition to investing in a soundbar, getting a good

pair of headphones and setting up subtitles: • TURN DOWN THE BASS. Bass “is the enemy of understandable speech,” according to tech website CNET. A hearty low end might enhance a rumbling

earthquake or an exploding building, but you won’t be able to hear any character plan her escape from the impending disaster. • COMPRESS THE VOLUME RANGE. Some TVs feature a night mode,

which reduces the difference between the loudest and softest parts of a movie soundtrack. The purpose is to keep your TV quieter when others are asleep in your home, but you can keep it on

this setting all the time. Some TVs refer to it as dynamic compression. _— Gabriel Baumgaertner_ In other words, these subtitles are supposed to be a pretty complete transcription of what’s

being heard on screen. How to enable closed captioning may vary slightly but usually involves pressing SETTINGS on your TV remote and then selecting CLOSED CAPTIONING in one of the submenus,

such as DISPLAY.