Bill D, you might appreciate a sound setting we found on our new Vizio TV. There is a setting (I forget the name, just call it A for now) with what I can only call great hissing. To my husband, who has high-end hearing loss, it sounds normal but to me it "ssssoundssss likke people are sssspeakking with-th-th way ovvver-emphffasssizssed hhhigh-pittcch cconssonantsss." Clearly the high-end frequencies are seriously boosted on that setting, which might be just right to balance out the muting you experience. It's been about 2 weeks and I'm starting to get used to the hissy-setting. It's worth it compared to how things were with the prvevious TV, when we had a constant (friendly) battle with the volume, he wanted it up, I wanted it down.

Do all new TVs come with that kind of sound setting option? I wondered if they're appealing to aging boomers, not to mention younger folk who've grown up with too many hours of ear buds blasting music. Okay, come to think of it, probably helps a lot of folks damaged by this noise-polluted world.