Telephone with answering machine for the hard of hearing

[Banker]

My Mom is 83 years old and is hard of hearing. She has a hearing aid but she is probably going to need a different kind because she does not like what she has. She wants a new cordless answering machine and phone combination. It has to absolutely have a loud ringer and it would be nice to have dual handsets. I know in most stores you really can't test them because so many of them are sealed in hard plastic. Any suggestions for a good one for my hard of hearing 83 year old mother who lives alone? She is annoyed with her current phone because you can't make it any louder than it already is. She tried using the telephone company's answering system but she said you have to pick up the phone to know if you have any messages. Nothing blinks or lights up....Thanks in advance! Sue

 

[wackymother]

My MIL is very hard of hearing and she has phones in literally every room in her 2br apartment. Some rooms have two phones. All of the phones are cranked up to maximum volume on the ringer. When the phone rings, you practically fall out of your chair; it's like an explosion! I have heard that there are phones with blinkers instead of ringers, but she doesn't have one and I've never seen one. That would be great for people who are just somewhat hard of hearing.

Anyway. She has an AT&T phone that she likes best. She's had it for several years, so the model number probably wouldn't do you too much good. But I think it's the one she can hear the best on, and it lights up when there are messages and all the usual stuff.

She often has a lot of difficulty understanding recorded messages. Sometimes she calls me and plays messages back so I can tell her what the person said. Also she avoids anything with one of those "Press 1 for customer service...press 2 for accounts payable..." menus, because she has a lot of trouble getting through them.

 

[Jestjoan]

DB got Mom a phone for hard of hearing. I do not know if it has an answering machine model or not. This phone does all sorts of things like hangs up if she leaves it off the hook. I think it is corded but I don't know.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Banker,

Call Harc Mercantile - ph:800-445-9968
They will suggest which phone in their stock is best for your mom's needs.

Harc Mercantile
1111 West Centre Avenue
Portage, MI 49024

http://www.harcmercantile.com/

If she decides to get new hearing aids - make sure they have a telecoil, which will enable her to use a phone without whistling (feedback). Many of the newer hearing aids have auto-telecoils where the hearing aid switches to telephone mode automatically. Hearing aid compatible telephones emit a strong enough magnetic signal to work with a telecoil.

Good luck

Richard

 

[MULTIZ321]

I have heard that there are phones with blinkers instead of ringers, but she doesn't have one and I've never seen one. That would be great for people who are just somewhat hard of hearing.

They also carry devices to connect to a lamp for phone/alarm alerts
http://harc.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=44


Richard

 

[MULTIZ321]

She often has a lot of difficulty understanding recorded messages. Sometimes she calls me and plays messages back so I can tell her what the person said. Also she avoids anything with one of those "Press 1 for customer service...press 2 for accounts payable..." menus, because she has a lot of trouble getting through them.

CapTel service may beneficial for your MIL. The service will also provide translate answer-machine messages into text messages.

http://www.captionedtelephone.com/

Richard

 

[Jestjoan]

Here are some links to the phone DB bought Mom

She needed the automatic hang up feature very badly! Maybe, you can find something more to your requirements. There was a cordless but w/o an answering machine. I think it was from Senior Shop. I'll get the link.

The phone is Clearsounds CSC50. You can Google it.

ClearSounds: http://www.clearsounds.com/store/product-31691328.htm

SeniorShops: http://www.seniorshops.com/clearsounds.html

 

[Banker]

Any more suggestions on a loud phone/answering system for my 83 yr old Mom??? I gave her my old Panasonic and it does have various ringers that one can switch to, etc...some are louder than others or maybe it is just that particular sound that she , who is hard of hearing , can distinquish easier?

 

[wackymother]

CapTel service may beneficial for your MIL. The service will also provide translate answer-machine messages into text messages.

http://www.captionedtelephone.com/

Richard

Thanks for the ideas, Richard! I'm going to look into them, especially the light alarm. MIL unfortunately has been very resistant to all kinds of products that would make her life easier and more pleasant. I don't mind listening to her phone messages, but I would feel better if she had a fire alarm she could rely on, so I'm going to focus on that. Thank you again!