True. It's the speaker, which is the main source of the sound. But again, why? Why would anyone with normal hearing want to turn off their TV speaker? 

Yes, I might do it if the phone rings and I want to keep following a baseball game, but I'll turn it back on when the call is done. Other than that, I can't think of a real reason to do that. I guess I'm just surprised the number is that high. 

By the way, I got into the habit of having closed captioning on when I was caring for my late mother in her 90s. She had terrible hearing and despite a hearing aid, needed the CC. 
  
I kind of got used to it after a while and find I still sometimes have it on, despite not really needing it. Most stations have large print on a black background, all in caps, which is standard for news and network TV shows. Here's a sample from the CBC:



But for some reason, CFTO has just recently changed the size of their captions to some very tiny print, using a more unconventional upper and lower case. It takes up less screen room, but I would think for those who have trouble with their vision as well as their hearing, it's not necessarily a welcome change. Have to say I've never seen anyone else do this. Here's what their new CC looks like:

 
Through all of this, I still use my TV speaker. 

One last weird little factoid that has its origins in Toronto and is now used on TV newscasts all over the world. 

There was a time when TV did not use those banner headlines over stories during their newscasts. Instead, you'd just see the anchor reading a throw, a piece of copy or the visuals from the story on tape.

Any idea who came up with the concept of putting those graphics at the bottom of the screen over everything? It was none other than City TV's Moses Znaimer, who long ago suggested (well, ordered) that a headline be put up over every story on CityPulse and later CityNews. 

When asked why, he said, "For those who are watching TV with the sound off."

I always thought that answer was insane, but I was proven wrong and today, it would look weird without it being there.

So I guess this goes back farther than I realized. 

RadioActive wrote:

I find most waiting rooms never turn it on

And thank your preferred deity for that. Whatever happened to a litlle peace and quiet?

People who like this are the same people who spend their lives with a TV or a radio yammering away in the background and think nothing of it, like it's normal.

See yourself in the mirror?  

 

RadioActive wrote:

I was actually referring to the CC, not the direct TV sound. I wouldn't want that on in a waiting room, either.

Agreed on the CC. Audio off, CC on = good.

I guess it beats reading the 10 year old magazines they have laying around

I take recent magazines to leave in the waiting room, after cutting off the identifying tags. Others do this as well. And people bring jigsaw puzzles and leave them for others to work on.

I'm talking about a major hospital in downtown Toronto. You can bring a 1000 piece puzzle and when you come back in a week, you'll see it almost complete. The remaining pieces will be there. Yes it's true.

But the clientele of this hospital tends to be older....

I used to go in every weekday. My waiting room had a TV tuned to CP24. Sometimes people would turn up the sound, and when they did, I would leave and find another spot.

There is no way I would ever want to encounter televisions with audio in a doctor's waiting room, if I did, I would never go back.


 

I often take a commuter train that leaves around 5am each day. It's a 1.25 hour trip.

Most days, the train will fill up as the train procedes south, but you won't hear a peep.

Everyone on this train knows it is a major transgression to make noise at these hours of the morning.

Lots of people with headphones. NO people with speakerphones. And that's how it should be.

As you say, silence is golden.