mm wrote:
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:11:00 -0800 (PST), Jo - the girl
wrote:


I'm trying to go to (community) college and am living with my parents
for financial and health reasons. My bedroom is right above the family
room where my father watches TV for about 17 hours a day. When I go to
bed I hear the TV blaring through the floor, when I try to study or
relax I hear the TV through the floor. It's one thing to hear a very
muted sound through the floor but it's another when I can almost hear
the words of whatever program he's watching. He's not deaf so I don't
know what his problem is.

I suppose he has lost some of his hearing or he wouldn't want it this
loud. (I assume when you are in that room the sound is louder than you
would have it?)

Regardles, I suppose someone will suggest headphones, but it would
take me quite a while, if ever, to get used to such things. Right now
I don't like them, even though I have had to use them on occasion.
OToH, he might not feel as I do.

As a middle road, how about putting speakers closer to where he sits.
There may be a speaker jack on the tv, or if not it's usually possible
to put one in. It involves cutting one wire to the current speaker,
running both stubs to a jack in the side, plus tapping the second wire
to the current speaker and running that to the jack too. (If the jack
is meant for earphones it should probably have a resistor in both
channels, and if it is meant for speakers, probably not. It will work
without a resistor for either, but for headphones or earphones, you'll
probably have to turn the volume down quite a bit.) Then the
speaker(s) could be put right next to the chair. I usually use
speakers with cabinets (sometimes plastic, sometimes "wood") left over
from stereos, etc.



Thanks to everyone who replied.

After reconsidering this I think that even when the TV is at a normal
volume level that I can still hear the TV through the floor. That just
doesn't seem right to me. I hope all houses aren't built like this. I
can even hear him snoring and coughing through the floor. My personal
favorite (I'm being sarcastic) is when I can hear him burp through the
floor.

I do have carpet in my bedroom but it's 20 years old and there's no
chance of getting it replaced. I can't wear earplugs and he won't wear
headphones so I guess I'll have him try some speakers. I can have the
sound lowered on his TV to a set level and then have him operate the
volume on the speakers via the cable box which they would be connected
to (that's what I sometimes do on my TV). It would've been nice if I
could've come up with a way to block the sound from going up by using
soundproof material around the TV.