Q. My wife and I have somewhat severe hearing loss, and while we can get by most of the time with our hearing aids, watching TV is always a challenge. What can be done to make it easier to understand the on-screen voices?
A. A quick — and free — fix is to turn on the closed captioning, which can be done in the TV's setup menus or the menus for your cable or satellite box. They're not just for viewers who need to rely on them alone. They often prove to be a useful adjunct to the sound because they can help you make out words that you cannot clearly understand.
There also are electronic solutions. The ZVOX AV157 TV Speaker offers new innovations that make it the most powerful tool available for making television dialogue easier to understand. Poor television sound and muffled on-screen voices are by far the mostcommon complaints I get, and in the past I have recommended ZVOX Dialogue Enhancing TV Speakers as a possible solution. The speakers feature AccuVoice, which is based on hearing aid technology. AccuVoice lifts the voices up above the background sounds so they can be more easily heard and understood.
The AV157 raises the bar with ZVOX's new SuperVoice technology. It goes a step further than AccuVoice because not only does it lift the volume of the voices, but it also reduces the level of distracting background sounds. The increase in clarity is quite remarkable. The AV157 has multiple levels of SuperVoice adjustment. At the highest settings, it might sound a bit screechy to those who have normal hearing, but those with greatly diminished hearing remark that it sounds "just right." With 12 total levels of adjustment, it is likely to have a sweet spot for most anyone, and the settings can be changed depending on who is viewing, as well as if hearing loss progresses.
They are regularly priced at $299, but ZVOX is having an Election Day sale that makes it a great time to buy one. Through Nov. 3, you can save $100 at zvox.com by using the coupon code VOTE2020, bringing the price down to $199.
Let the sun shine
After writing about solar panels two weeks ago, I heard from readers who had some good suggestions. One was to check out energysage.com. A reader wrote: "It's a great website with much information. If you want quotes, the site acts as a middleman so companies don't get your contact information. Tesla is a big name, but certainly not always the best choice. I got a great deal from a local company, with U.S.-made panels and battery, and far cheaper than Tesla."
Send questions to Don Lindich at donlindich@gmail.com. Get recommendations and read past columns at soundadvicenews.com.
