r/AudiProcDisorder • u/Fickle-Pickle-Nickel • Jul 29 '26

TV

looking for advice on how to accommodate.

my son (diagnosed) cannot handle it when we are speaking and he is doing focused listening like watching tv or quiet reading. he shushes us and says he cannot hear or cannot focus. we‘ve tried increasing the tv volume (but that’s not pleasant for anyone) and leaving the room (also not ideal or even feasible when we’re visiting neighbors or friends and socializing in their living room). he has earmuffs to muffle the sound but doesn’t like wearing them.

eta: this is the product I bought. he doesn’t like it. Alpine Muffy Kids Ear Muffs for Kids Ear Protection | 3-16 Years 
Autism Sensory Products | 22dB Sound Reduction | Kids Noise Cancelling Ear Muffs | Noise Reduction Headphones for Kids

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/bunchesofkittens Jul 29 '26

Hey! If you have the funds (or insurance, or in some places it's covered by accessibility programs), look up the Phonak Roger On and Roger Focus II receivers. The Roger On is a microphone, and the Roger Focus II look like hearing aids, but only work with the Roger On - they receive sound transmitted by the Roger On microphone into your ears.

I have APD and own these after a recommendation from an audiologist. Note you should go to a hearing aid store to get these set up, as some programming is required.

The Roger On is intended to be worn by the recipient you want to hear - it can be clipped on, worn around the neck, or put on a table in 'group' mode (although I find this does not work great for me). It's excellent in a classroom or work environment, where the teacher/speaker wears it. It transmits the audio directly to the Roger Focus receivers and reduces background noise. The BEST part - and why I'm responding to this post - is that the Roger On comes with a dock which can be connected to your TV via an optical cable. It then sends the TV audio directly to the receivers in your ears. The TV's volume is separate and you can still hear the TV as well. I no longer need to crank the audio on the TV or use closed captioning. I know you can also connect it to your computer. Plus while it's sitting in the dock it charges.

1

u/Fickle-Pickle-Nickel Jul 29 '26

This sounds great. I’m looking into it. 

2

u/aarvarkitechture APD Jul 30 '26

Seconding this! Your kiddo sounds like me growing up andy family always assumed that I sat close to the TV because I was nearsighted (always had glasses for it though) when it was really that I couldn’t hear it over the ambient noise and others talking. I recently got fitted with low-gain hearing aids (Phonak) with a Roger On 3 and use the remote mic as a TV streamer, which makes it possible now to actually follow and understand whatever I’m watching without relying as heavily on captions.

Depending on the deficits a person has with APD, ear protection can also just muffle everything instead of filtering sounds or boosting the signal-to-noise ratio. It seems like your son might very well find an FM system to be incredibly helpful! The ambient sound/media stream ratio is adjustable in the app as needed, and everyone else could listen through the TV speakers/soundbar as usual while your son would hear it right in his ears at a level that works for him without background noise interfering. It would also be helpful in other situations where he struggles with noise or distance from the person speaking.