Scott Meyer

How to Devise an Innovative Solution

Added 2023-07-17 07:00:01 +0000 UTC

I actually flipped this one so that Rick had the problem I do in real life. It’s hard to say why. The mumbling coming from behind him just felt like more of a Rick punchline to me.

Anyway, yeah, I started noticing that I would have to turn the sound up to unreasonable levels to hear the dialog on my TV. The weird thing was that the music and the sound effects were unreasonably loud, but I still had trouble with the dialog. Missy could hear every gunshot and explosion two rooms away, but I couldn’t hear the characters talking.

I actually went so far as to have a hearing test. I sat in an anechoic chamber, wearing huge, old-looking headphones, while a recorded woman’s voice recited random words. It felt like a brainwashing technique from an episode of The Prisoner, which, if you know me, you know that is NOT a complaint.

I fully expected them to tell me that I had substantial hearing loss in the frequencies that tend to carry the human voice, but that wasn’t the case. My hearing is fine. Actors are just more prone to whispering and mumbling these days.

I have found a partial solution though. Headphones. The dialog is clearer, and even if it isn’t, I can play it as loud as I want and not disturb Missy. No joke there, I guess. Just consumer advice.