"Tools" for Elderly / Challenged / Disabled (hearing, sight, arthritis, etc.)

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Hey everyone.

I’ve been wanting to help out an elderly acquaintance for a while now with a couple things. I’d like to ask if anyone has some suggestions they might be able to share.

  1. They wear hearing aids. I was thinking about some type of headphones specifically for people who wear hearing aids, so that they can better hear the audio/words from media they’re watching or listening to (eg: podcast, or documentary/show). I’d think it’d have to be an over the ear style.

  2. Arthritis - they have weak hands, no grip force and aren’t good with kitchen tools like a chef’s knife. I’m thinking about a device that can slice and dice/chop food without the need to use a knife.
    Eg:

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71WB2nhwwZL.AC_SL15001493×1500 235 KB

I’ve looked at so many of these types (above) but never even tried one because after reading reviews they all seem like garbage. I know about mandolins, but most of them only slice (like the japanese Benriner). I want this person to be able to dice an onion, potato, etc. The German Borner has a model that says it can dice (fairly small dicing I think).

Does anyone have experience with any of these two things? Could you please offer some help if you do, or maybe ask someone you know if you think/know that they have a solution.

Thanks very much!

(Other thoughts: For the food prep thing, I also thought about a food processor. I have a mini immersion blender attachment that is a mini food processor, but this person tends to not like using this kind of thing…I don’t know why. I also thought about slap chop, haha. "Hi! It’s Vince - with Slap Chop!).
Edit: Smacking a “slap chop” type device might not be the best idea for the hands either… I don’t know.

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The hearing aids i see most people use these days, have a connection to their phone that they can bluetooth into…is this person’s not capable of that?

The onion chopper thing, works, works very well…i use it all the time… but you have to physically hit it hard to get it to chop properly, and its honestly pretty tiring to make like a bean salad with veggies(bell peppers, tomatos, onions, jalapeños,) at least my hand always smarts for a little while after use

However, I dont have any suggestions for a bettet tool, unfortunately…

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Definitely not, unfortunately. Though I duno if they’d even want that feature, haha.

Which one are you talking about?

Thanks.

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The picture you threw up

I have one of those, or something that is exactly like it…idk why you saw bad reviews, its a workhorse that is easy to clean and saves alot of times dicing but it can hurt the hand after awhile, as mentioned.

The bluetooth hearing aids are awesome, can adjust the levels right from your phone, connect the hearing aid directly to the phone when youre speaking, etc…they give them out standard at the VA these days, thats why i was confused…we get generic everything, so i figured the technology was common these days…

Youre on a good mission, hopefully others chime in

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Hmm. Ok, cool. Maybe I’ll get one for them to try out. They might all be “the same”, at least of these cheaper (relatively) ones. I’d gladly pay a bit more for a quality made one though - quality blades/cutting inserts would probably be the difference I’d want.
If you happen to remember which one you have, maybe you could let me know later.

Yea, actually, they just got a new one (or two/both, I don’t recall right now) recently. Could’ve got better ones, and cheaper through Costco Canada, but… they’re… a bit… -they’re not as “good of a shopper” as I am, and just went with the hearing place’s offering.

Thank you very much @ClandestinLEE

@CocoaCoir Wouldn’t they have to remove their hearing aids to put those airpods in? And also, they don’t have ear pods.

Personally, I haven’t found ear bud styles that fit my ears. Very annoying for me. They don’t seal well, and the fall out. Frustrating.

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I find a pump sprayer is easier on the hands than a typical trigger squeezing spray bottle.

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My old hands had a hard time grinding my buds. I read about this grinder. I bought one and it works very well.

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I can say this, my MIL, is 92 years old.
Her 85 year old sister passed away last week.
They were both in the same room at the care home, they have lived at for a couple of years now.
Both raised on a farm , 9 brothers and sisters, strong work ethics, all her life.
Anyway, about 10-15 years ago, they (MIL and her husband) sold the house they lived in for 70 years, to get into a 55 and older condo, all set up for the elderly.
8 years ago the walks stopped, and lazy boy tombs were purchased.
Her hubby passed away just as the covid event swept us all into hiding.

Then her cooking stopped.
So we all took her prepared meals, until we realized, the freezer was full of heat and eat meals.
So she got to grazing as using chef Mic, became to difficult for her.
Then her sister moved in to the condo, as she had more mobility, but her own issues, and started using the prepared food items.

The Lazy Boy tombs were doing their job very well, as now mobility is down to bathroom sprints, with their walkers.
Then nurse services we needed for showers, and physical therapy.
Then they started to dismiss the PT folks, as being to tired to do that.
Then UTI’s started happening, as they forget to drink water, and lack of movement is their enemy now.
So now comes the pain, in her arms, shoulders, along with shots and other voodoo bullshit, and it all stems from being sedentary.
I’m 68, wife 70, years old.
We go to a Silver Sneakers funded, exercise group meets twice a week, offering various types of work outs, to what you can handle.
There is a 95 year old lady, drives her 1980’s pick up truck to the class, before the Tai Chi class we take.
The lady is amazing, cooks her own food, works her garden, lives alone, and just a joy to be around.
Getting the elderly to embrace the MOVE IT OR LOSE IT mindset, is where the game is.
Conquer that, and the gadgets will get used.

I’m NOT at ALL, throwing shade on your ideas!!
Hell, I find it amazing your giving it your thoughts.
We simply want the best for them both, in our case, but it was like dragging a convict to the electric chair. They dug in their heels and gave us the proverbial finger to everything we tried to give a better quality of life.
You just get to a point, and shrug your shoulders and hope for the best.

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