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My mom is 92-yrs old, with some very mild cognitive/memory challenges, and lives next door to me. She has arthritis and some neuropathy in her fingers. Yesterday she tested with mod to severe hearing loss (as I had suspected) and hearing aids were recommended by the audiologist.


Please tell me your experiences with specific brands and features and dealing with an elderly LO just learning how to incorporate hearing aids into their daily routine. Price is not a problem for her, thankfully.


Thank you!

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My advice is she puts all vanity aside and doesn't opt for tiny in the canal hearing aids. The smaller the HA the smaller the batteries making it more difficult to change them and the more often it needs to be done, plus it can also be harder to put the HAs in and seat them properly and to take them out, especially given her neuropathy.
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Geaton777 Jan 2022
We have a friend who worked construction his whole life and then lost his hearing due to not wearing ear protection around the machinery. He's a husky fellow with fingers like kielbasa and I just remember watching him try to manipulate the batteries into the HAs. Lots of swearing!
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My mom has AD and so remembering something 'new' like the need to insert a hearing aid, or even recognizing it as hers, would be challenging. I bought her a pocket hearing amplifier from Amazon for about $45.00 and a set of cheap sony headphones for $10.00 that can plug into the amplifier and we're in business. They do come with earbuds, but I thought the amplifier/headset would be harder to misplace, and it seems more comfortable to her. Her hearing is labile, so it's not an every day thing. A bonus is that the headset fits her iPad too (I think the latest iPad's don't have a port).
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Geaton777 Jan 2022
Thanks! We will go see what's out there at the clinic store, since apparently they have many/all options there. I would never have known about amplifiers except from reading this forum. I appreciate you insight!
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Geaton, my cousin has had the very expensive hearing aids and now uses and swears buy Hue Hearing aids. They are less then 200.00 for a pair.

Well worth looking into more cost effective options since you don't know if she will wear them or not. It is common for seniors to get and never use hearing aids, because they are too impatient to let their brain rewire after being hard of hearing for a long time.

Best of luck finding a solution.
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Geaton777 Jan 2022
I've never heard of that brand so thanks so much for the recommendation. I'm trying to keep low expectations but feel like her adjusting to hearing aids is now or never at 92 and at the rate her cognition is declining. The last time she herself checked the hearing aids were $2000 but that was several years ago so we'll probably have some "sticker shock"!
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Your problem is her being to take the audio testing. She has to be able to follow instructions. Then its adjusting of the hearing aid. Its all done by computer and she needs to be able to say if something is high enough or low enough. You should follow up for tweeks. Also, she has to be able to say if the mold is comfortable or not. They do have a tube thing but my Mom did not do well with it.

I agree about the rechargeable. She will not be able to put batteries in.
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Geaton777 Jan 2022
Yes, it's hard to know if she is correctly processing what she hears during the adjustment. She is already worried about knocking them out when she wears puts on and takes off her winter hat. Her medical clinic has all the different types so we'll go check them out to see which style best fits her "lifestyle" ;-) Thanks!
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