Tater's TMO visuals for RSRD
might help, though Intended to solve a different problem, discussion
here (link is in post 6).
I find I can usually see and hear better than my crew, but figured this was a crew experience issue. Crew will increase their skills with experience.
Also, the default crew selection when you get a new sub isn't usually the best - you can usually find crew working in the torpedo room who have much higher "watch" skills than some of the guys in the watch crew. Watch crew should have watch skills of 30 or better, Sonar should have very high "Electrical" skills and an officers rank.