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What do you do when mom and dad keep losing their hearing aids

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time and time and time again, and the care facility doesn't really care?

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Or better yet, they're at home and the dog ate it.

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Stay tuned.

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There's a lot more in store on this one.

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Hearing aids lost and found.

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Hello everybody.

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It's Nancy May with another episode of Doing it Best With Eldercare Success.

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This one is "Can You Hear Me Now?"

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You know, the old Verizon commercial that used to say, can you hear me now?

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Can you hear me now?

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Well, guess what?

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Hearing aids are a little bit like the old Verizon commercial

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and no, they are not a sponsor.

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So in any case, I wanted to share, a question that had come up And I've seen

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a number of times where the issue of losing hearing aids becomes a problem.

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My own dad had this problem as well.

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He really didn't like wearing his hearing aids because they were uncomfortable.

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And I also get it.

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Vanity played a very strong part in that one.

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Oh, I'm not an old fart.

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What do I need those for?

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Well, it's interesting to know that hearing aids or being able to hear

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clearly and better can actually improve your brain health or their brain health.

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When you don't have that sense or a sense that you relied on all your life,

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losing it actually becomes detrimental to your cognitive capabilities.

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But that's for another episode.

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However, the question of losing mom and dad's hearing aids, whether it be

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at home or at a care facility, is an issue that we all have dealt with or

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will deal with at some point in time.

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I recently got a question from somebody saying, do you think I should call the

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ombudsman because mom keeps losing her hearing aids and they can't find them?

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Let me tell you, that is not a case for an ombudsman.

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An ombudsman is only dealing with physical or mental abuse.

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Loss of a hearing aid is not mental abuse.

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Sorry.

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however, if mom and dad are in a care facility, and they keep losing

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their hearing aids, you know what?

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They really don't care about your issues.

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It's not that they're bad people.

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It's just that they have so many other things to deal with.

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And on average, they only have one person, one aid, or one worker

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to deal with anywhere between 17 to 20 residents at a time.

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Can you imagine trying to find five different people's hearing aids?

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those little beige things that are going to blend into any kind of carpet,

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unless it's a black one, but even still, they are small enough that they

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can easily get swept up into a vacuum.

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Or just get swept away or even worse stomped on at up to six or

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even eight thousand dollars pair, that's an expensive footprint.

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However, caring for mom and dad's stuff, like I said earlier, is

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something that those care facilities really don't care much about.

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That includes taking care of mom and dad's antique dresser and their hearing aids.

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It's just not part of their priority or their responsibility,

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to be honest with you.

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in this episode, I'm going to share a list of a bunch of ways that you

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can protect or try and protect the loss of mom and dad's hearing aids

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without a lot of extra cost or expense.

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These are fairly simple.

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There may be a small nominal charge.

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But, it's not going to be an exorbitant charge like going out to get some

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fancy little Bluetooth hearing aid and we'll go through those too.

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But let me start with item number one.

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if mom and dad are in a care facility, make sure that their

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hearing aids are actually listed in their chart as a medical necessity.

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this way, these tiny little items are more likely to be kept when not in

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use, typically at night when mom and dad are asleep, in their med cart.

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That means they'll be given back to them in the morning

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when medication is handed out.

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However, not every facility will do this, and if they're in an independent facility

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where medication is not being managed or dispensed, then you're on your own.

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a second way to at least maybe retrieve mom and dad's hearing aids

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if they get lost is to use a permanent marker to put their name on them.

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Alright, it may not look pretty, but it's doable.

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Remember when you went off to camp as a kid, and mom would either iron in

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your name in the back of your shirt, or your pants, or your shorts, or whatever

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you had, and even use an indelible marker to write your name on the back?

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Well, same principle applies here.

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Lost hearing aid?

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Ah!

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It's Mr.

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May's.

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It says May right on the side.

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Pretty easy.

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And the only cost is an indelible pen or marker.

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Now this is an interesting solution.

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There's actually something called a hearing aid retention cord or clip

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This is like a little, I'll call it sock that goes over the hearing aid and it

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will help them keep clean, you know, like all the wax and gunk that gets in there.

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the neat thing about this is if it's around their neck or looped around the

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back of their neck or attached to a piece of clothing with a little clip

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is that you don't have to worry about those hearing aids falling out and.

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Maybe Into the Toilet Bowl.

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God forbid.

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Gross.

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And I don't even think about flushing those ones out.

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Literally and figuratively.

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Kind of like your first goldfish.

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I don't think I want to remember that one either.

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Okay.

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Sorry Goldie.

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But in any case, there's a link to this particular device.

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in the episode notes.

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Another way to recover your hearing aids or their hearing aids if they get

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lost is by tracking the serial number.

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Now, most hearing aids, because they're expensive, actually have a serial number

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somewhere on them if they get lost.

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kind of like the, the code or the number that's on the front dashboard of your car.

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I actually think it's in about eight different places on your car.

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But in any case, these little numbers are a way to track down who owns them.

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Now it's kind of also like a dog tag, I guess you might say, except

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you don't need a veterinarian or the LostMyDoggie(dotcom) site.

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But in this case, you're going to have to make sure that the care facility has that

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number so they can track down who owns it.

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Now, as I said earlier, care facilities have a lot to deal with, and the

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last thing they care about is mom or dad's $6,000 pair of hearing aids.

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I know, right?

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It's an expensive loss.

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However, you can keep that particular number on your cell phone or

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somewhere with other records just so that you know it's theirs.

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and if they get lost, make sure that Just call the care facility

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and say, Mom's lost her hearing aid.

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Please check the serial numbers on any of the hearing aids that you may have found.

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Mom's is, write out the serial number and make sure they have it.

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Better yet, text it or email it to them so they have it printed

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out as well on the other end.

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Now, you could also forego expensive hearing aids altogether and

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instead opt for hearing amplifiers.

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They are not the same as hearing aids.

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Hearing aids are regulated by the FDA as a medical device.

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Amplifiers are designated solely as sound amplifiers And are designed ideally for

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people who have normal hearing capability, but just need a little amplification

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And you can get those usually for a couple of hundred dollars online.

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So that's an easy substitute.

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If those expensive ones have gotten lost and mom and dad just don't want them.

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You can also get hearing aids at Costco or the VA.

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Now, the Veterans Administration is a great place to get these, especially

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if mom and dad are a veteran or have worked in service at some point in

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time and have the benefits of the VA.

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Now, I have to let you know, Costco, the VA, and most hearing

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aid companies will replace.

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One if lost.

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However, two, three, four, not going to happen.

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My dad lost his several times and we got them replaced once, but we

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couldn't get them replaced again.

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So we had to go back, get another set, pay for them out of his insurance

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benefits, and we went forward from there.

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They also can be fairly uncomfortable Because getting them in your ear the right

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way, so they don't feel like, Ooh, I guess I could call it a prosthetic, is not easy.

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I rode motorcycles for some time and I had something like that, that went in my

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ears to protect my ears from the sound of the wind, which can actually hurt

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your ears and your hearing over time.

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Those little plastic devices that molded in there, supposedly

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custom to my ears, nobody else's.

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were uncomfortable when I got them in there.

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either way, it's a foreign device in your ear.

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And you just have to understand that and explain that to mom and dad if

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they're never comfortable with them.

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That's why I say the small hearing amplifiers don't do that.

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But again, they are amplifiers.

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They are not medical devices.

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Now, I did mention that hearing aids are regulated by the FDA.

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However, there is a new category called OTC or over the counter

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hearing aids, which have been approved by the FDA recently.

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The whole medical audiology community is an uproar over this, because it

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is eating into their business and their industry with lower costs

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to us, not to them necessarily.

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and it also takes the control over what we spend out of their

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hands, just a little bit, which I probably think is not a bad thing.

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However, I want to let you know that the OTC hearing aid market is for those who

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have just mild to moderate hearing loss.

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They can also be bought without a prescription or exam.

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That can be a good thing for us,

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but that's for another episode.

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let me get into another category altogether that might help.

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And I bet you're thinking, Why aren't there hearing aids that have a Wi Fi

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finder or tracking device on them?

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Kind of like when you've lost your phone, or maybe your Tesla.

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Now, I don't have a Tesla, but somebody told me that that

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actually happens with theirs.

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I think that's pretty cool.

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the good news is that there are some hearing aids that have

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Bluetooth built in finders.

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Their price range go anywhere from $2, 000 up to over $6, 000 a pair.

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Yikes!

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Mom and Dad better not lose those lottery, right?

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Now I'm sounding like a parent.

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Please don't let me do that.

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However, I will put a link in the show note to these particular

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items I'm going to mention next.

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You'll have to get each one through a professional audiologist.

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Each of the links in the show notes will help you find specialists in your area

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who can help your parents, or you, make sure that they don't get lost, or at least

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show you how to find them if they do.

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of course, that's dependent on making sure that somebody hasn't

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stomped on them, big feet or not.

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Maybe that's a car rolling over them, unfortunately.

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but here are a few names of hearing aid brands that you can check out

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and get started down on this road.

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I'll start with the least expensive first.

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The first is Jabra Enhance Plus.

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That's J A B R A, Enhance Plus.

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Their cost is around 2, 000 or less per pair.

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Now, I know that 2, 000 is still a lot of money.

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Still, it's an opportunity to make sure that if they do

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get lost, you can find them.

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Consumer Reports gives them a 4 out of 5 ranking for OTC devices.

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Again, this is an OTC hearing aid device.

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most of these Bluetooth hearing aids will hold a charge for

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about 30 hours on average.

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Traditional hearing aids that are powered by a battery tend to last longer, but

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if they get lost, you could be SOL.

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So I guess the inconvenience of having to charge them every night

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is probably not a bad thing.

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The second one I found is called ReSound One.

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R E S O U N D E R E.

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S O U N D 1.

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Their cost is between 2, 500 to 4, 500 a pair.

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They get a Consumer Report Rating of 4 out of 5.

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ReSound actually has a 3D app that can help you locate missing hearing

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aids via the Bluetooth again.

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And third is Phonic.

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P H O N A K, Audio, A U D E O, Paradise.

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I'm not sure having a hearing aid that's going to cost you

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over two grand is a paradise.

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And they can go well over the cost of 6, 000 a pair too.

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However, they have a rating of 4.

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5 out of 5.

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there are several others on the market as well, but these are

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three that will get you started.

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I do want to share that I am not paid by any of these companies to give them

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an endorsement, so we are ad free.

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however, on that note, of course, if you'd like to give me a little

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support, I'd appreciate that.

Nancy May: 00:13:43

You can do so by going to the book, How to Survive 9 1 1 Medical Emergencies, a step

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by step guide before, during, and after.

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Now that's actually helped you too.

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There's a link in the show notes for that as well.

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And you can go to howtosurvive911.

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com to get your complimentary file of life, which I've researched and

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redesigned specifically for you.

Nancy May: 00:14:06

A file of life is something that can actually save your

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life in the ER or mom and dad's.

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Many ER doctors have told us that, especially when seconds count

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on your life or somebody else's.

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you can also help me by giving this podcast a recommendation on Apple

Nancy May: 00:14:23

podcasts and other listening platforms.

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And also by sending me note or posting a comment in each platform.

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Ideally you like this show, so give it a five star rating.

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then also if you have a question or comment that you'd like aired,

Nancy May: 00:14:38

please send me a voicemail on EldercareSuccess.Live there's a little

Nancy May: 00:14:42

blue tab on the right hand side of that page that says, send Nancy a voicemail.

Nancy May: 00:14:48

on that tab.

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You can send me a recording and I'll air it on the show.

Nancy May: 00:14:52

Just send me an, I love you, Nancy.

Nancy May: 00:14:55

This is a great show note.

Nancy May: 00:14:56

I'll be happy to have that one too.

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And so will others.

Nancy May: 00:14:59

Finally, like I always like to say, if you like this show, please share

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it with a friend, a family member, or anybody else that you might see

Nancy May: 00:15:07

standing online at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts who seems a little stressed out.

Nancy May: 00:15:12

It could be their caregiver too.

Nancy May: 00:15:14

A link to this show can be your gift to them, because it's my gift to you.

Nancy May: 00:15:20

until our next episode, next week on Wednesdays, as always, Be

Nancy May: 00:15:25

well, stay well, and keep caring.

Nancy May: 00:15:27

It's Nancy May at Eldercare Success.

Nancy May: 00:15:30

Bye bye.