To smash the tv

[Happyhippy45]

My dh has this really infuriating habit of coming in, turning the tv on and then leaving the room for extended periods. E.g. To go to the shops, go upstairs to play guitar, have a shower etc. He also switches in on then goes and sits at the computer and plugs his headphones in and watches music videos or starts to play his guitar.
I've spoken to him about it and explained why I find it irritating. He was ok for a while but he's getting worse than he was before. Sometimes he leaves almost as soon as he's switched it on.
I've watched much more of the football than I ever intended because of this.
I have MS and my mobility isn't great, so getting up to switch off every time is tiring and frustrating. He knows I don't like passive tv watching or multiple sources of noise (guitar and tv) but I accept he does...I just want him to switch it off when he goes off to do something else.
Part of me thinks he's doing it on purpose.
Btw we do watch tv together in the evenings. I can cope with that even when it's shite I'm not that fussed with watching.
Does anyone else have a dh who does this?

I try to have a rule that we only ever turn the TV on to watch something specific. Otherwise my husband would just turn it on "to see if there's anything I want to watch" and then flicks for ages before settling on something really aimless and crap.

I have the same rule as bakingdemon. It's very effective. We only watch tv about twice a week on average, and when the programme is over, it gets switched off. 'Channel surfing' is one of my pet hates.

Yeah this isn't even channel surfing. It's just background noise. I've watched by default all manner of shite. I drew a line before when he kept switching on Loose Women or some other day time shite.
When we watch tv together in the late evenings it's pretty much always something that's been recorded or something on Netflix.
It's like a ritual of always switching on the tv when he gets home even though he has no plans to watch it.

You've mentioned your mobility makes it hard to switch the TV off - I'm presuming your husband drops the remote in random places so it's not in your reach. Could you get one of those universal remotes so you always have one in reach, and switch the TV off as soon as he leaves the room?

Yup, this is my DH to a tee! If the tv is off when he comes in he asks what is wrong with it . He will watch any old shite, and I mean any old shite! I once caught him watching a thing about someone who invented spectacles for chickens to stop them seeing blood and vent-pecking.....
I have been forced to watch so much shite (I'm usually doing a puzzle or MNing, but I end up taking it in) that I reckon i could:-
Rebuild an engine
Fish for prawns or crab in the North Atlantic
Build weird furniture out of random crap
Build a house out of horseshit.

Maybe one day th is unwanted knowledge will stand me in good stead...

You can get an app on your phone and programme each tv in to it. I think it's called peel remote control.

Yup remote gets left on his chair on the other side of the room.
I need a remote for the tv and the free sat box...otherwise the screen stays on and gives me rage🙄
I hadn't thought about a remote app.....good idea....maybe it'll work for both the tv and freesat box?
thePlatypus actually your husbands viewing choices sound a bit better than my dhs.

If the app doesn't work, try something like this:

www.argos.co.uk/product/1078828

You can add up to four devices to it - just press the button at the top for which device you want it to control. Handy as well if one of your remotes goes missing.

Thanks for that screaming
I tried the app but it couldn't detect anything. Universal remote from Argos it is then. Less expensive than smashing the tv

How unbelievably selfish! That would drive me to distraction. I used to share a room with a smoker who used to get out of bed, light a cigarette, put it in the ashtray and leave it there untouched while she made her bed. Never smoked any of it. It was a very bad habit she had no idea she was doing it, maybe your DH is the same? What does he say when you complain?

arken Wow, that sounds like a challenging room mate!
The first time I brought it up he didn't understand why it was a problem. Thought I was making a big deal out of nothing. I've explained how and why it bothers me and he conceded that he would switch it off.
I resorted to asking him if he was still watching the tv almost every time he got up or picked up the guitar. That worked but got a bit irritating for both of us. He went for a while of managing to switch of and be a bit more considerate. Now he's worse. He leaves it on stuff that he knows I don't like to watch, like the news, some antiques programme, pointless, dragons den.....it drives me nuts.

I just had to get up and switch the news off as I realised he's at the computer with headphones in watching fucking music videos again.
Give me strength. He is being a selfish twat isn't he?

I gave him such a look as I did it and he just smiled at me. He couldn't hear the swearing.

He just said in a sing songy voice "What did you switch the telly off for."
Told him it's really irritating to have it on stuff I don't want to watch when he isn't even watching.
Cue him making fun of me being grumpy. I continued calmly asking if he could try harder to switch it off so I didn't have to get up and switch it off as it takes more physical effort from me than it would him.
Then he got all shitty saying "Oh so I have to do what you want? But you get to be grumpy."
I got told to fuck off. Not an extreme thing in our house and often said in jest but he meant it this time.
I'm done.

My husband does the same thing, he turns the TV on as soon as he comes in for background noise, pisses me off as he always puts the same shit on every time.

He sounds very selfish and annoying. DP does like the tv on for background noise but only when he’s in the room!

I'm sorry he does sound like a selfish twat. Why are his needs prioritised over yours? He doesn't need the telly on when he's doing something else. And especially leaving the remote out of your reach, that is really unkind

He just made a big deal and a joke out of switching it off when he was about to go out. I suppose I won this round but it really shouldn't be such a battle.

Get a second remote and turn it off!

Tbh, I do this. But I usually put kids channels or news on in the background.
I have anxiety and it makes me feel in tune with the world. It's comforting to me. That may sound silly to some. But it just makes me feel more easy.

Then other times I just need silence when everything is off.

I agree though, get another remote.

I don't mind too much when he puts it on for background noise. His mum does the same. Its normal for him.
I grudge paying for something that we don't really need. It could be solved if he just switched the bloody thing off!