[BuzzR]

Hi.

This is an involved question, so please bear with me...

I have a 2013 BRZ Limited that I bought new a year ago. I am hearing impaired and have only one working ear - and it is only about 30% of normal (long, sad story.) It serves me well enough with the use of a hearing aid, though it's like listening to the world through a tinny Drive-In movie speaker (if any of you are old enough to remember those.)

However, it's impossible for me to listen to any auto radio and understand anything being said or played using the auto's regular speakers (no matter how good they are.) Its all an unintelligible "Blah, Blah, Blah!" to me (when combined with the engine, wind and traffic noise.)

Prior to buying the BRZ, I drove a Dodge Dakota for 14 years. When I purchased it (new) I had the dealer install a phone jack for featherlight headphones into the dash. Using these headphones with my hearing aid (the aid has a "phone coil" that blocks out all other sound except for what's coming through the phone or - in this case - the headphones,) I could hear the radio clearly enough to understand speech and some music (though both were somewhat distorted.)

[Please understand that I used the headphones on open highways, where there were no ambulances or other emergency vehicles to worry about.]

So for 14 years I could listen to and understand talk radio and some music stations well enough to enjoy the radio on long trips, using the headphones. (I only heard through the left channel.)

When I bought the BRZ I tried to have a similar headphone jack installed in it, but was told the following by an auto audio installer:

"... unfortunately we can't add headphones to your stereo. Headphones use a common or single ground for right and left speakers. All stereo these days use a floating or separate ground for right & left channels. These grounds cannot be hooked together. There used to be adapters available to do this, but not anymore. "

Not being electronically inclined, I only - very generally - understand that paragraph, but know that basically it says, "You're screwed."


So I was wondering if, by wild chance, anyone here might know of a way to hook up a connection so that I can use featherlight headphones in the BRZ. The radio is useless to me otherwise.

Please know that I only care about AM radio, and would prefer not having to mess up the rest of the system, so that others can't use it.

Might anyone know where to find one of those adapters the guy said once existed? Maybe an old auto-radio parts place or something like that?


Please understand that clarity is paramount with me. Stereo has no meaning to me since I only have one working ear. I just need clear sound on the left channel so that voices are distinguishable.

If anyone might have some ideas, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Thank you so much for any help and information you can provide.