Elderly parents make phone calls unbearable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop the phone calls and switch to instant messaging.

Are you being sarcastic?

No - it’s a good solution to the problem.

[Anonymous]

Caption phone

[Anonymous]

Get an Echo Show for them and yourself. That's how I talk to my elderly parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get an Echo Show for them and yourself. That's how I talk to my elderly parents.

What is an echo show?

[Anonymous]

My mom has Bluetooth hearing aids that allow her iPhone sound to go directly to her ears - it’s wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get an Echo Show for them and yourself. That's how I talk to my elderly parents.

What is an echo show?

Like a Google Home, it’s basically Alexa with a screen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hearing loss can fast-track the road to dementia. I would make a deal with them that you will use landline if they get hearing checked. You could also FaceTime or text instead, My mom did all of that especially the interrupting.

+1. My dad resisted hearing aids but he is so much happier now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Caption phone

Yes, my parents use this
https://www.captel.com/
Some people, like veterans, can get one for free.

[Anonymous]

If you have a landline, definitely use that. iPhone only lets one user talk at a time- so if you are both talking, she won’t hear you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Zoom
Facetime
Skype

These are not new inventions

Also, Instagram & Snapchat have messaging features.
They're super easy to find & use (literally 3 steps for each, and even quicker if you bookmark for them) and they're both compatible for Android to iPhone and vice versa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zoom
Facetime
Skype

These are not new inventions

Also, Instagram & Snapchat have messaging features.
They're super easy to find & use (literally 3 steps for each, and even quicker if you bookmark for them) and they're both compatible for Android to iPhone and vice versa.

Sorry, they have FaceTime like phone calls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Zoom
Facetime
Skype

These are not new inventions

Clearly you do not have elderly parents who cannot use tech - or have forgotten how due to cognitive decline. Funny how everyone under 60 thinks that anyone in the world can just magically jump on the tech bandwagon when they cannot even use a phone correctly.

[Anonymous]

Do others have this issue with them? Are they in denial about the hearing loss so you have to get over that hurdle first?

[Anonymous]

My late mother would talk over me and would not stop even if I told her “wait, wait, stop, I need to say something”. We were talking on Skype but no video. I think some people just don’t know/don’t want to make any pause to hear the others say anything. She had no hearing problems.
With my dad no such problem though he does have hearing problems
So it’s not the ears it’s them not really caring to hear you.
With mom I would just let her talk. She hardly ever said anything meaningful anyway, and she didn’t perceive anything I said adequately either. She would sometimes use what I told her against me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My late mother would talk over me and would not stop even if I told her “wait, wait, stop, I need to say something”. We were talking on Skype but no video. I think some people just don’t know/don’t want to make any pause to hear the others say anything. She had no hearing problems.
With my dad no such problem though he does have hearing problems
So it’s not the ears it’s them not really caring to hear you.
With mom I would just let her talk. She hardly ever said anything meaningful anyway, and she didn’t perceive anything I said adequately either. She would sometimes use what I told her against me.

What I meant to say it’s probably not just the hearing, and I second the advice to tell them you are on your landline phone and see how it goes.