Need phone advice for aging parent

RVcrazy wrote:
Thanks for the ideas! Mom is not capable of using a cell phone. We tried several previously. We will check with her phone co. since she has a land line to see about text. My sister just bought an ATT phone that has 5 boosters, but Mom needs to push the booster with each call. She doesn’t remember to push it. I will tape a note to the phone as a reminder. Thanks again for the suggestions. We will work our way through the options ...

Does Mom live alone? I suggest a roommate or group home to get some assistance.

The hearing aids that I have (as others have suggested) are capable of streaming from an IPhone. This allows me to easily here the phone as well as stream Netflix etc. I'm not sure a $6,000 solution is what you are seeking, though.

These are Resound brand.

Thanks for the ideas! Mom is not capable of using a cell phone. We tried several previously. We will check with her phone co. since she has a land line to see about text. My sister just bought an ATT phone that has 5 boosters, but Mom needs to push the booster with each call. She doesn’t remember to push it. I will tape a note to the phone as a reminder. Thanks again for the suggestions. We will work our way through the options ...

My Mom got the caption phone provided to her for free. She just pays for basic landline service. She did have to have internet, but her senior apt complex provides wifi throughout the complex, so she didn't have to purchase. If she didn't then were were just going to get her a router without a computer, since she doesn't know how to use one. (she can hardly work her flip phone). Her hearing aid provider sent in the paperwork for her phone and they delivered and set it up. BTW, she claims phone service as a medical expense, since it is required to make the caption phone work and for her it is a hearing device.

"The bluetooth hearing aids will only work with a cellphone."

Some companies offer a device that will work with a regular land-line phone to interact with the Bluetooth capabilities of hearing aids.

Get her hearing aids with bluetooth connectivity. Many manufacturers offer them. Good luck, fought this problem for several years with my FIL.

On Edit: I see she has an old pushbutton phone. We added a cellphone to our plan and gave it to him. I think it was ten bucks a month, which was cheaper than the landline phone. We had him carry the thing around so he could call us from anywhere....even if he fell and couldn't get up. The bluetooth hearing aids will only work with a cellphone.

3boxerss wrote:
I know it sounds off the wall but my mother swears she can hear me better when I put my IPhone on speaker when I call her... She has an old pushbutton house phone..

Same here speaker to speaker! Mom has a landline phone and she puts it on speaker. I always say mom do you have your hearing aids in, LOL. She also has a Jitterbug that she never uses. Dad has the phone in her purse in case she gets lost in the shopping mall. She always forgets how to use the phone and she probably couldn't hear the ring. I always tell her if we get separated meet me at Macy's in the shoe department. My dad is 91 and does quite well with the iPhone and iPad. Mom's favorite saying is Screw the Golden Years, LOL.

I know it sounds off the wall but my mother swears she can hear me better when I put my IPhone on speaker when I call her... She has an old pushbutton house phone..

Check into a Jitterbug phone from Great Call. Got one for my dad and it worked better with his hearing aids than his land line. Very simple to use for the technology challenged.

Before spending money, check with the local phone company; they may have a program that gives elders a phone that also shows the conversation in text form. Years ago my mother in law needed one and you just get a doctor to sign a document and submit it to the phone company. Good luck