Hear TV Sound Without Blasting Everyone Else Out

Many of us over 50 begin to lose hearing and the first symptom we recognize is understanding speech. This article tells how to help understand TV speech without spending a lot of money and without having wires strung across the room.

Steps

This article will explain how to connect a small, inexpensive transmitter to your TV that will transmit the sound across the room to a FM receiver with "earbud" earphones.
For most with a problem of understanding speech, they are quickly aided by use of earphones or headphones. The goal is to leave the TV speaker on to get the full range of the sound and use the earphones to make the speech easily understandable.
However to use earphones plugged into the TV requires you to sit right close to the TV or have a very long cord for your earphones/headphones. A long cord stretched across the room is also a tripping hazard.
On some TVs if you plug the earphones into the "earphone" jack, it mutes the TV internal speaker. This may or may not be what you want, especially if there are others in the room watching the TV.
What you want to accomplish is to have the TV sound broadcast across the room wireless and a way to pick up the sound and listen with some earphones commonly referred to as "earbuds".(small earphones that are almost weightless and hang into your ear)
Most TVs sold today have a output jack for sound. Sometimes it is marked "earphones" and sometimes it is marked "line out". It is these jacks that we will use to get the source of our sound.
First, the transmitter.
There are several manufacturers that sell small mobile FM transmitters. These transmitters are designed to plug into music players and computers so the sound can be received by FM receivers in your home or car. I bought a Belkin "Tunecast" Mobile FM Transmitter from Walmart for $19.00.
This transmitter will broadcast on 4 different frequencies so you can choose one that does not interfere with commercial broadcasts. It's input cable has a 3.5mm Stereo input Plug (male).
The output of the TV may be a 3.5mm headphone Jack (female) and/or left and right RCA phono Jacks.
You must find a cable, if necessary, to connect the transmitter to the TV. Also you might need a preamplifier to match the output signal level from the TV with the input requirements of the transmitter.
Usually the output jack for headphones is a 3.5mm jack and the transmitter will plug right into it. Also, usually the output level coming from the headphone jack is enough to drive the transmitter without a preamplifier. A possible drawback might be that the TVs internal speaker may mute when you plug in the transmitter's plug. This is okay if you don't want or care if the TV internal sound is on.
If you choose to use the TV output jacks marked as "line out" (Usually two RCA phono jacks, one red and the other black), there will probably not be enough level to drive the transmitter and you will need a preamplifier.
Small, suitable, preamplifiers are available through the internet and from Radio Shack and are inexpensive.
You will need the proper cables to connect them up. The one I got came from Radio Shack and had RCA phono jacks for input and output. I used a cable with RCA phono plugs on both ends to connect the input of the preamplifier to the output jacks of the TV; and I used a cable with RCA phono plugs on one end and a 3.5mm stereo phone Jack on the other end to connect the preamplifier output to the transmitter input. (Of all the components, this was the hardest to find).
Next, the receiver.
Any FM receiver that has a headphone/earphone output jack will do. I wanted portability, so I used a small, portable, pocket sized radio. For earphones, I bought some "earbuds" from Radio Shack that hang in my ears and are almost weightless.
Tune the radio to the frequency you have selected by connecting everything up, turning on the TV, and tuning the radio until you can hear the sound.
Adjust the FM radio volume to get the desired effect. In most cases, if you "mute" the TV to answer the phone, the sound in the earbuds will "mute" also.

Tips

If you do not hear the sound, it may be that the transmitter is not getting enough level from the TV. A good way to test the system is to connect the transmitter to a CD player or other source and tuning the radio until you do. The transmitter is designed to operate from a source such as a CD player. Once you determine that the system is working, plug in back into the TV and it should work. If you have not used a preamplifier, this may be an indicator that you need one.
It is not necessary to play the TV real loud to make the system work. If you hear a lot of distortion, the volume of the TV may be too high.
You can adjust the volume of your earphones via the radio. I adjusted mine so I could hear both the TV from the TV speaker and the sound in the earphones. That gave full range sound and the ability to understand speech even when they were talking softly.
When I am not using the system, I store my receiver next to the TV to remind me to turn off the transmitter so I do not run the batteries down. The transmitter says it will run for about 25 hours on a set of batteries.
The ability of the transmitter to deliver a clear signal depends partly on the receiver sensitivity. According to specifications on the transmitter, it should cover the area of your whole house. I have found that that depends on the sensitivity of your receiver and that can only be determined by trial and error. Very small (2"x2") receivers will not have very sensitive built-in antennas and will not pick-up as well as a pocket size or larger receiver.

Warnings

The use of headphones and especially "earbud" types put a lot more sound into your ears than regular hearing. It is very crisp and clear and moving. However, very loud, prolonged sound can damage your ears. Listening to very loud music or sounds is exciting and that is why rock concerts are so loud and popular. It is also why so many young people are suffering hearing loss at a young age. The use of earbuds or earphones is not dangerous unless the volume is turned up very loud and for an extended time.