Does anyone know anything about television headphones?

I have to use them, both because I like to watch television late at night and I live in an apartment building with paper walls, and also because during the summer months my air conditioner and the fans I use are so loud I can't crank the television sound after 8 pm. I like to be a courteous neighbor.

My first set of headphones, the charger died after 5 years of heavy use. I bought a new pair July 2nd, same brand, (RCA), and they've already begun to stop working properly after about 3 weeks. Today they are not taking more than 2 hours of charge.

I bought a set of brand new fully charged Energizer batteries, so the batteries should not be an issue.

Any ideas what could cause this headphone set to die so fast?