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Home phone that works with hearing aids?

Darren Wright

Darren Wright

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Anyone have recommendations for a home telephone that has large buttons, preferably cordless, and works well with hearing aids?

My wife's grandpa has a cordless phone he carries on him at the assisted living place they live in, but he mentioned that he has a hard time hearing on it with his hearing aids and he doesn't call anyone since he can't see the buttons (too small).
 
Are you saying he has his own landline at the facility? This is not a phone system provided by the facility, correct? I just wanna make sure I’m pointing you to the right type of appliance.
 
Don, He is a WWII Vet, but he refuses to use any VA or Medicaid benefits. He feels those benefits are for those that really need them. I agree with most everyone that says that he earned them, but that is his choice. So when he mentions something that we feel may help with his quality of life we try to jump on it and help out.
 
Darren Wright said:
Do you know if they have to meet certain financial considerations before he can use the Aid and Assistance Pension, such as with Medicaid?
Click to expand...
There is a financial consideration but it is higher than medicaid.. It's a complicated formula and each case varies. It's best to contact a local VA or if there is a DAV office close to you they can help.
 
Having been down this road a few times; LOML has worn hearing aids since high school and dad is . . . well, just 94 ;-) Most solutions we tried had one flaw or another so you have to pick your poison. Things I learned:
- There appears to be no truly serious maker of phone products for the elderly. This is just mind-bending to me.
- Most amplified handsets were amplified so much that the caller picked up too much echo to make the conversation much fun.
- The Panasonic products were the best we tried but, the ergonomics (the shape of the handset) made it difficult for arthritic hands.

In the end I must confess that we gave up. The Panasonic (KX-TGMA something) worked the best. They chose to stick with the cordless POTS handset design of decades past. This proved to streamlined and "slippery" for folks with a grip issue. This may not be a deal breaker for you. Whatever you try, be sure there is an easy return policy. Best of luck.

P.s. The iPhone was a blessing for LOML. The audio is quite clear for her and she has the option (when in private) of putting it on speaker phone and using her hearing aid functions to optimize the situation.
 
Don't know about landlines, but my iPhone 10 works great with my Bluetooth hearing aids. The sound is quite clear. I have the option, on incoming calls, to send the sound to the hearing aids, the phone's speaker, or just to the phone itself. I usually choose the hearing aids.
 
Thank you fellas! I did order one to try out for a couple of weeks off Amazon, but thinking I'll return it. I was already leaning towards a corded one with some number presets and large numbered buttons. Then hooking it up with his existing cordless with a splitter so he can sit in his room to make calls, then have the cordless on him for when others call him. We'll also type up some of his numbers in large font for him to dial if he needs to. He'll be 99 later this year and he's not looking to learn anything new
 
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