My very elderly father is also very hard of hearing. His current hearing aids stream to his iPhone, which he needs in order to talk on the phone, but which is also becoming increasingly difficult for him to navigate. Is there a ‘simple phone’ that hearing aids can stream to?
If his hearing aids are only “made for iphone” and do not have standard bluetooth then the hearing aids are the limitation. If his hearing aids have standard bluetooth then the “simple phone” needs to have standard bluetooth.
Does the iphone have some accessibility settings he can use? Maybe he can talk to the phone. Or does the iphone use nfc tags? Maybe he could simply tap a tag to do something on the phone.
Are there any accessibility settings on the iPhone that could make it easier for him to navigate. Apple support might be able to assist on this they have pretty good phone support.
What is the model of the hearing aid does it have a T-coil?
Here are some ideas.
Welcome to the forum.
What hearing aids does he have?
Thanks
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He has Oticon. The problem isn’t his hearing aids, it’s using a smart phone. He really needs one of those ‘made for seniors’ type phones. Simple navigation, phone, text and bluetooth. Keys big enough for clumsy fingers. There’s a RAZ that looks to fill the bill, but it doesn’t have Bluetooth. So I’m still looking. I’ve done all I can to simplify his phone, we tried installing Siri so he can just tell it what to do, removed extra apps… etc. But he calls me almost every morning to say his phone doesn’t work…
So my question is more about finding a suitable phone than new hearing aids. He could change brands of hearing aids if that would pair better with a simple phone. He is pretty profoundly deaf and does need custom molds.
What carrier does he use?
We need to know which aids he has. We are guessing his Oticon aids are made for iPhone although the newer Oticon aids are compatible with both iOS and Android.
The aids will tell us what kind of phone is compatible.
Thanks
Does he use his aids internet or just calls?
Easyfone Prime-A6 4G Unlocked Feature Cell Phone, Easy-to-Use Clear Sound GSM Dumbphone with an Easy Charging Dock
200+ bought in past month
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M8DRDL7?tag=track-ect-bing-usa-607217-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1
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Nokia 235 4G (2024) - Full phone specifications A Nokia 4G phone with bluetooth which is not so smart.
I would suggest a Flip phone (with buttons) that has Bluetooth is a good fit to your father.
These turn on when the phone lid is opened and turn off when the phone lid is closed - that makes them more “friendly” in operation.
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Tello, but that can change
I’ll find out, thanks
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Just calls and text. Doesn’t need internet or want it
Looks like a good easy to use phone, but how do you text? Since he can’t hear that’s something he really needs.
Texting?! That’s a whole other ball game. “dumb” phones with a standard dialing keypad are poor for texting. Used to be the way back in the day but much easier with modern “smart” phones and a standard qwerty keyboard. Whether by touch or physical key.
Which comes back to accessibility features and dictating the text. Even reading them out.
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No one mentioned text…
Texting with a dumb phone is a lot of effort.
You can make a smart phone fairly dumb. Calling and texting is much easier. Hide the apps he doesn’t need.
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Geez, I don’t know if Oticon has a program like this, but I have a dedicated program called “Acoustic Phone” on my Phonak Lumity Life aids.
Anyone can hand me any kind of phone anywhere in the world, and if I put these aids into “Acoustic Phone” it’s like I hear the call stereophonically in my ears - it’s not streaming, and it’s definitely not speakerphone quality. It’s about 97% as good as full Bluetooth streaming quality tho.
If your dad really needs to hear on the phone (and who wouldn’t?) maybe he could consider trialing a pair of Phonaks and use the “Acoustic Phone” program.
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Sounds useful.
Maybe I’m asking the wrong question! Is there an easy to navigate smart phone with Bluetooth? His problem with the iPhone is navigation
