The optical out has to be set up for use in the TV settings. I believe it is would be under the sound area.
At least the almost new LG we have does.
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I think my LG 55" TV is quite good for sound - good enough that I didn’t feel the difference in sound when hooked up to the HiFi was worth it
But!
The TV play gadget for my Widex 440 hearing aids is so much better - although when plugged into the Optical sound (which, as Raudrive points out, needs to be set up in the TV) it ONLY outputs to the TV Play gadget and disconnects the TV speakers
Not a lot of use if there is somebody else in the room, which normally does not affect me. When searching for info on this forum I did come across somebody who had found a work round to this, which meant getting another cable. I cant remember where I saw this now
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Sorry to say that the more ‘surround’ the sound the harder you will find it to hear as the aid processing will work hard to try to work out what to present. There will also be more reflections and competing sounds - you are deliberately causing ‘speech in noise’.
Often if a program dialogue is hard to hear the simple solution is to switch to stereo.
Also have the TV as close to you as you can and minimise hard reflective surfaces above, below and to the sides of the TV speakers.
I do use a streamer alongside the speakers. I have toslink from the TV and a Sonos sound bar using ARC. My LG Oled does not permit mutliple sound out simultaneously except for this combo.
The streamer is the way to still enjoy sound with clarity and surround ambiance as you are effectively a few mm from the speaker and no spurious reflections.
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Best answer given in my opinion. If one needs the sound from the TV it will not be for the one who is hearing handicapped.
Thanks for all the advice here. The consensus seems to be the purpose made streamer so I’ve bought the Phonak TV connector, which should arrive tomorrow and have exchanged the TV set for a cheaper one which appears just as good and has an optical out. The first LG set we bought last week had a hearing aid setting in the menu but in practice the Bluetooth delay was so bad It created a terrible echo. I must admit I’m slightly worried that this will happen with the streamer but I should know in a day or two. Thanks again for all the input.
Seeing how hearing loss is such an individual thing I’m not sure how anyone can answer this
I would suggest using a socket doubler on the TV headphone socket. Plug one into a Phonak TV connector (for your benefit) and the other end into a sound bar (for everyone else to listen to).
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Sorry my response is too late - you have already bought something.
Maybe for others.
The OP says his rechargeable batteries are low at the end of the day, so using his HAs is not on.
TV speakers do not generally emit high audio quality.
The way I have done things for myself and my wife is to buy a dual BT transmitter capable of low latency audio codec, and BT headphones that also support the LL codec.
I have “Avantree Audicast Plus” BT transmitter, and Sennheiser HD-350BT headphones.
The BT transmitter has audio and optical inputs. When using the optical output, the TV speakers stay on. The transmitter is powered from the TV’s USB port.
Both devices are quite inexpensive and work fine. They support the AptX LL (low latency) codec. Low latency should prevent hearing the sound twice with a small delay.
The headphones have volume adjustment, and a simple EQ function that can be set on the accompanying app, but we have not tried it. The sound is good for our impaired hearing. The headphones have to be charged from time to time, depending on use.
I can not recommend Avantree headphones. Tried them, but not as good as Sennheiser.
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Hello everyone and sorry for my spelling mistakes, because the text is translated with google translator.
I am a user of Ponak Virto M90-312 headphones (with non-rechargeable batteries), I have the Ponak Tv connector transmitter and I have a Sony KD55X8509C television (which is more than 5 years old).
This tv has a double sound decoder, so the 3.5 jack audio output is totally independent from the tv speakers. I connect the transmitter via 3.5 jack and all the sound is perfect for me and the rest of the family.
In addition, when using my hearing aids with non-rechargeable batteries, there is no problem with recharging (the batteries last 7 days for me). And if I go trekking on the mountain for several days, I don’t have to worry about chargers or power banks.
I hope my comment will help someone.
All the best.
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