Need help with discreet hearing aids

GzRC

My grandmother’s husband is going deaf, is showing signs of Alzheimer’s, and is refusing to go to the doctor for either issue or to buy hearing aids. My grandmother has never been great on the caregiving front, and her health taking a turn for the worse hasn’t helped things. They also live in the middle of nowhere England (we’re in New York), so this is all long-distance. Money isn’t really an issue for buying hearing aids (though a more cost-effective option is always ideal and might be more appealing to him) - he’s just always been very stubborn and the possible Alzheimer’s isn’t helping things. My grandmother is trying to get him to the doctor, but to no avail. I know that often times hearing issues can exacerbate Alzheimer’s, and so to kick the can down the road for now we’re looking at options for discreet hearing aids that he would think are headphones (or that are headphones with a sound amplification system built in) but that won’t fall out of his ears since he’s had a few falls recently. I told her that Powerbeats Pro might work since they have the wraparound ear thing. I’ve done a little research, and it seems like these are other good options: JLab Hear OTC Hearing Aid & Earbuds (both actual hearing aid and headphone); AXIL GS Extreme 2.0 (both actual hearing aid and headphone); Shokz OpenFit Pro (just headphone but they have a feature to magnify the sound); Soundcore by Anker AeroFit 2 (just headphone but they have a feature to magnify the sound). Any other ideas or reviews on these would be much appreciated. 

SusanB-dil

Hi GzRC - and welcome to 'here', but sorry for the reason.

I don't know of anyone who has tried anything like this, so you never know til you try, right… However, I'm not so sure that with alz, he will be able to use anything like that? and would he actually use it? If it isn't too much cost, you could see what happens.

H1235

Welcome. I’m glad you found our group. Many with dementia have anosognosia. It is the inability to recognize their symptoms or limitations. Trying to convince them there is a problem usually does not go well and often creates a lot of anger and frustration all around. To get him to the doctor it’s best to send a note to the doctor explaining all the symptoms and concerns, then come up with some other reason he needs to go to the doctor. Doctor called and wants to check your - blood pressure, heart, edema….. Another idea is to tell him the insurance company is demanding an annual wellness evaluation. Whatever works. I know that fibbing seems awful, but it is probably the lest stressful for everyone. As far as hearing aids. Mom got her hearing aids about a year before she was diagnosed (she had some symptoms). She never really managed to figure them out. Even if I helped her get them in place and working properly, within minutes she would press a button and have things all messed up. Most of the time she would forget to put them in. We did buy her headphones (old school, with a cord) to use while watching tv. These seem to work well for her, she actually uses them and the only buttons are for volume. If you do get actual hearing aids I would look for something very very easy to use and your grandma will probably need to remind him to put them on a lot. This may become a battle that is not worth the fight. I have heard hearing can exacerbate dementia, but I wouldn’t count on it making much difference. If he is skeptical of the hearing aids to begin with I think this is going to be very difficult. I will add a few resources that might be helpful. I’m sorry, I’m sure this is not what you wanted to hear.

DBAT.pdf

Anosognosia and Dementia - AgingCare.com.pdf

https://iona.org/therapeutic-fibs-ok/