Recomendations on specific house phones for seniors with dementia? Looking for one with a loud ringer, loud speaker, etc.
I know people will get referrals for searches on the internet and articles to read. Sometimes when you are in a crisis and have to make quick fixes you just need a specific recommendation for a device that has worked for others. Thank you so much!😀
MommaBearLove: Hmm - that's a tough question since the senior suffers from dementia. They may or may not be able to adapt to a landline, most likely leaning on not since individuals with dementia cannot learn new things.
If you have a landline, call the phone company. They'll have adaptive phones free of charge for your family member. (It's an ADA thing.)
We got a phone from AT&T for my mother with gigantic push buttons and both volume and TONE buttons. That tone switch made an enormous difference, because hearing loss isn't fixed solely by making things louder. She couldn't hear low tones, and that switch really helped.
The only drawback with her phone was that even though it had push buttons, it functioned like an old dial phone. You could hear the "clickclickclickclick" when you dialed a 4, "clickclick" for a 2, etc. It dialed phone numbers just fine, but it couldn't be used for a "press 1 for English" menu at the other end.
I have a Caption Call phone for my Mom. She is hard of hearing. Nearly Deaf, won't wear hearing aids anymore. The phone has a color button that when someone is calling or called. Also loud ringer and the voice is written out so she can read it. Is not perfect, but helps. Uses internet for the translation. The dementia is getting worse and I hope the caption phone helps you. They are free. I am in Oregon
I have a Caption Call phone for my Mom. She is hard of hearing. Nearly Deaf, won't wear hearing aids anymore. The phone has a color button that when someone is calling or called. Also loud ringer and the voice is written out so she can read it. Is not perfect, but helps. Uses internet for the translation. She has cell phone I provide for her, won't use it, cannot remember how. The life line buttons I have all over the house and one for her to wear, she won't wear it. The dementia is getting worse and I hope the caption phone helps you. They are free. I am in Oregon
Mom has a iphone and we went with Mint Mobile (15.00 month). In the iphone you can have it auto answer and flash a light so you can see the phone is ringing. When it auto answers, the caller starts talking. I usually say “MOM, this is Joy, are you there?” Asking a question helps mom to respond. Since I didn’t want her to hold the phone and lose it I zip tied it to a standup charger. I deleted all the contacts except the ones I wanted to be able to call her and selected the no calls except from contact list. This keeps scam robo calls from being audible. I also got her a Alexa Show and we can drop in and see her. I call her from my phone on the alexa app and the alexa show in her room is a larger screen so mom can see me and I can see her. I also control the music and reminders. As she progressed, I discontinued the calendar reminders because she was unable to process them. Now, I just put it on BBNRadio dot org and she can listen to her favorite station. Why do we have both? Well, one is cell and one is wifi and I wanted to cover all my bases :)
One of the first things Mom forgot how to use was a TV remote and her wireless phone she had for years. Never could get her to understand the earlier simple cells. I hope this person is not living alone. Once Dementia is in the picture, they should be living with someone or in care.
This is a good remote for some people with dementia, if there is someone who can follow the directions to program the channels (I recommend limiting the channels to just a handful.) It really depends on how far they have progressed. My experience is that the Alzheimer's Store has good products to explore.
I'm happy with this one. You can amplify the handset, or put it on speakerphone and amplify the sound. It is very easy to use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZR2IY4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I had a grandpad for my daddy. It sat on the charger on the stand next to his chair. When someone called it flashed with a call and he was able to hear who was talking to him. As his ALZ became worst he could not use it. It is not a landline and it does not need wifi because it uses data. It about 5"x7" and a good size for someone who might not be accurate in touching buttons on a screen. Its also portable to take on the road, next door or outside. Designed special for ALZ patients and worked well for my need.
Good luck. I am on phone #3 for my mom. Last one. This one is an AT&T trimline. I turned the ringer and speaker volumes up high. I programmed the few of us that are still in contact with her regularly into the memory feature. She is still having problems so it's just an ongoing battle.
The issue isn't the type of phone.....its the Dementia! Like the Alzheimer's clock I bought mom. Told her the day, date, time, and whether it was AM or PM. Worked great until she forgot to look at it. Once dementia progresses to a certain stage, ain't no phone or gadget on earth that'll 'work'.
Your LO has 2 seperate issues going on: hearing loss and dementia/memory loss.
The hearing loss can be overcome -- if you google phones for hearing impaired lots of options come up.
But phones for people with memory loss is a little trickier since they don't adapt to new things well and can't retain new learning. We got an "easier" landline phone for my MIL in LTC. It has large buttons that have our pictures on them and dials directly to us. But she doesn't even look at the phone or think to use it. She has not called us on it once.
So, I have to ask just how much memory impairment does your LO have?
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We got a phone from AT&T for my mother with gigantic push buttons and both volume and TONE buttons. That tone switch made an enormous difference, because hearing loss isn't fixed solely by making things louder. She couldn't hear low tones, and that switch really helped.
The only drawback with her phone was that even though it had push buttons, it functioned like an old dial phone. You could hear the "clickclickclickclick" when you dialed a 4, "clickclick" for a 2, etc. It dialed phone numbers just fine, but it couldn't be used for a "press 1 for English" menu at the other end.
I also got her a Alexa Show and we can drop in and see her. I call her from my phone on the alexa app and the alexa show in her room is a larger screen so mom can see me and I can see her. I also control the music and reminders. As she progressed, I discontinued the calendar reminders because she was unable to process them. Now, I just put it on BBNRadio dot org and she can listen to her favorite station. Why do we have both? Well, one is cell and one is wifi and I wanted to cover all my bases :)
https://www.alzstore.com/tv-remote-for-seniors-p/0049.htm
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZR2IY4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The hearing loss can be overcome -- if you google phones for hearing impaired lots of options come up.
But phones for people with memory loss is a little trickier since they don't adapt to new things well and can't retain new learning. We got an "easier" landline phone for my MIL in LTC. It has large buttons that have our pictures on them and dials directly to us. But she doesn't even look at the phone or think to use it. She has not called us on it once.
So, I have to ask just how much memory impairment does your LO have?