Amplified Cordless Phones for Seniors – Are They Better?

There comes a time when standard telephones are no longer functionally adequate for many aging adults. Amplified cordless phones for seniors provide options to explore.

There are many amplified cordless phones to choose from. How do you know which one is the best fit for your needs or the needs of the senior person you are buying for? What should you be looking for in the amplified cordless phone you want to buy?

This article helps address these questions and how you can determine if you need to review amplified cordless phones for seniors to meet your hearing needs.

Amplified Cordless Phones for Seniors and the Elderly

Cordless phones for the elderly have many varied features which make them more suitable for older adults. Furthermore, phones that are specifically labeled as amplified incorporate additional important features and functions.

Take a quick look at most cordless phones for seniors. You will see that they look more modern and contemporary compared to their corded models.

This is because of increasing sophistication of wireless technology.

For example, the CIA World Factbook reported approximately 1.263 billion main telephone lines worldwide in 2003.

By 2013, although there was an increase of over 5 billion mobile users, this number had decreased.

This was due to the greater sophistication of digital technology, and the ease and convenience of switching to wireless (cellular) or Internet-based alternatives (Wikipedia)

The major advantage of cordless phones over corded phones is straightforward. There are no cords restricting you from moving around while answering the call.

It is this convenience and mobility that cause many seniors to opt for cordless models.

It is however highly unlikely that single base corded phones will ever completely disappear. This is because some seniors and the elderly tend to shy away from new technology gadgets and still have preference for the older style look phones.

Do I Need an Amplified Phone?

There are many resources available to people with hearing loss. Most of these help make it easier for them to understand others and communicate properly. Using an amplified phone is just one of them.

So how do you know when you might benefit from using an amplified phone? The answer is simple. If you do any of the following:

• Constantly turn up the volume on the radio or television
• Avoid social situations or talking on the phone because it is difficult to hear or understand conversations
• Find hearing more difficult in open spaces than in a closed room
• Constantly asking the person on the other end of the phone line to repeat themselves

Why Should I Choose an Amplified Cordless Phone?

The obvious reason is simple. You currently have difficulty hearing and sometimes understanding the person on the other end of the telephone line during a phone conversation.

This is probably the reason why you are reading this article!

In addition, when you listen to someone speak on the phone, you do not have the benefit of seeing their facial expressions or body language.

Both usually help provide validation of their spoken words in the conversation.

Another reason to choose an amplified cordless phone is that it is much more difficult to process sound through one ear.

This is why we have two ears. If compounded by interfering background noise, this difficulty can make the telephone conversation hard to understand.

This is why technology advancements have been used to create amplified phones as a solution. If you have any degree of hearing loss, even a very mild one, an amplified phone can help improve your telephone conversations. Check the review on Panasonic cordless phones KXTGM 400 Series models.

What is an Amplified Cordless Phone?

Amplified cordless phones are phones specifically designed for people who are hard of hearing or who have some degree of hearing loss. These phones look similar to corded or cordless home phones.

They however have additional features which allow you to amplify incoming sounds. These sounds are much louder and clearer than when using your regular standard phone.

While volume and clarity are the main features of amplified cordless phones, they have additional settings to equalize the tone of voice or the speed of speech. The latter two features are useful for two conditions.

The first is if your hardness of hearing relates to difficulty hearing, while the second is understanding people who talk fast or who have high-pitched voices.

Many amplified phones also have the ability to increase the volume of the ringer, so that you can still hear the phone ring whether you are in the same room where it is placed in your home.

What Are the Benefits of Using an Amplified Phone?

They improve the hearing of people with age-related hearing loss or other hearing impairment (mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss).

It is recommended that you visit your audiologist for a hearing evaluation to identify your degree of hearing loss before buying an amplified phone.

This will ensure that there are no other underlying conditions that could be causing the immediate hearing loss and avoid further damage to hearing.

Refer to another article on this website about 5 Degrees of Hearing Loss. This will guide you to select an amplified phone which will provide you the clearest quality.

NOTE: If you wear a hearing aid, then it is helpful to replace your standard phone with an amplified phone. However, you must ensure you purchase a phone that is compatible with your hearing aid. This is because amplified cordless phones for seniors do not work well with certain hearing aids.

Some hearing aids may have a telecoil in the hearing aid. In this case, you can use a small switch to regulate your hearing aids to only pick-up sound coming through the telephone, and not the background noise around you.

Amplified Cordless Phones for Seniors. In Conclusion

With technology advancements, amplified cordless phones for seniors can improve quality of life. Understanding the features of these amplified cordless phones is a necessary first step before buying.

Everyday activities like talking on the phone can be challenging for those with hearing loss. Fortunately, this problem can be easily solved.

The best amplified cordless phones for seniors on the market have many of the features discussed. Are there any other features that we have not mentioned? Let us know in the comments box below.

Related Articles

• Eye Health in Seniors. What to Expect in Aging Adults
• Top Cordless Phones for Seniors. Popular Panasonic KXTGM 400 Series
• Top Cordless Phones for Seniors. The Confusing Clarity XLC Series

References

“The World Factbook:REFERENCES :: DEFINITIONS AND NOTES”. www.cia.gov.

“UK households: ownership of landline telephones 1970-2017 | Survey“. Statista.