I have Widex Evoke hearing aids and recently purchased the Widex TV streaming device ($400) from my audiologist. We have a TV soundbar and could not, even with the assistance of knowledgeable salespersons at two different Best Buy locations, figure out what type of connection between the streaming device and the soundbar would work. Without the soundbar, the TV sounds tinny, and when the streaming device was connected directly to the TV and the TV volume was turned up loud enough for my husband to hear it, I could also hear it “past” my hearing aids, only there was a delay, so I was hearing an echo of every sound. We could never correct these issues, so I had no choice but to return the Widex streaming device.

I use closed captions for all TV viewing, and I always sit with the soundbar volume control in my hand, because sometimes commercial sounds, background music, and certain sounds - explosions, car and plane engines, sirens, gunshots, etc, - are reproduced at such volume that they become truly uncomfortable for my ears. I have read repeatedly that movie and TV sound engineers have moved away from concern for accurate hearing as a priority when they design sound levels. Their artistic choices sometimes, perhaps often, trump their concern for audience ability to hear dialogue accurately. The following article is interesting and illuminates some of these problems. https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/tv-subtitle-usage-up-to-80-what-is-going-wrong-with-dialogue-mixes