Advice needed - communication devices such as headsets

NYDave

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Hi folks,

This is my first post here and the reason I've signed up today is because I could really use advice / opinions / recommendations from people with experience.

I'll try to keep the intro brief since I'm guessing a lot of you here are familiar with the kind of situation I'm in:

I'm 45 and my hearing is OK. My father is 78 and can hear, but I have to shout directly inches from his face to discuss anything at all. He is incredibly stubborn and basically refuses to use any of the hearing aids (from cheap to expensive) that we've managed to get for him over the years. He is inconsiderate in that respect and set in his ways. But it wasn't as much of a problem until recently. My mother / his wife of 58 years recently passed away (a terrible loss, she was wonderful and we had a great relationship) , and that has put me in the position of having to take care of much more than I did for him before. Now I have to handle critical financial things for my father such as banking and paying his bills and basically all aspects of daily life that require interaction with the world beyond his television set and headphones. Our financial situation is difficult, otherwise I would already be looking for the most expensive hearing assistance device that I could find in order to give him no further excuses.

So with that stage set, as you can imagine there has been a lot of shouting and struggles for me as I try to help him through all of this stuff. Banks want him to verify on the phone as I work on his accounts etc... and normal tasks are extremely difficult and frustrating for the both of us.

What I'm looking for and hoping to find guidance here for is regarding any kinds of devices that are like headsets that we could wear so that we can have a clearer conversation without shouting and miscommunications.

I'm just starting to look around for something like wireless bluetooth headsets that operate sort of like two-way duplex radios (if such a thing exists).

He seems to be comfortable with the idea of using headphones / headsets, whereas he's seems completely against anything that even remotely resembles the traditional hearing aid type of devices.

We've tried to get him to use everything from the cheap over-the-ear enhancers all the way up to a $2000 pair of real hearing aids, and no go. All of those devices just sit there in a box and he scoffs at them. (Partly because he can't control them since his hands don't work well, and partly because he's never had a proper fit or good experience).

So while I know the real solution is to basically force him to use hearing aids (if we could ever afford a correctly fitting pair that he could control), but unfortunately I have to deal with the situation the way it is.

He does have a little headset amplifier that he's been wearing , but it's poor quality and distorted and I still find myself having to speak very loud and repeat myself constantly.

All I want to do is help my dad, regardless of how stubborn he is being, and it seems the only thing I can get him to use are headset style things.

He is content to watch TV with typical wireless headphones all day and like I said, he's even trying to use this sort of headset amplifier device when I sit with him, but it's a piece of junk and just not cutting it.

And so I come here with hopes that some / any of you might be able to suggest devices that are like two-way full-duplex headsets.

I've looked into the kind that motorcycle riders use in their helmets but from what I've seen so far those are really super expensive systems.

Is there anything out there that resembles something like what motorcyclists use, or even bluetooth devices like the ones people use with their cell phones, but which operate as an open channel communication between two?

I thank anyone / everyone who takes the time to read this post and respond. I'm getting kind of desperate over here. Ideally I'm hoping to find a solution under $200 total, but I'm still interested in ANY suggestions for near future reference.

If you're reading this right now, thank you so much for considering a reply. I'm currently driving myself mad searching places like Amazon for something that might work for us.
 
Because you said this "(Partly because he can't control them since his hands don't work well, and partly because he's never had a proper fit or good experience)" in your first post I think you might want to look at the hearing aid manufacture's sites once again as a number of them have come out with controls that use a neckloop rather than just the little tiny controls on the aid/s. Then inquire about who handles which in your area. It may well take more than one trip but today's aids have many adjustments that can be programed for him.

The brand that I am familiar with is Phonak as that is what I have. I got their Com Pilot for other reasons but much prefer using it for control than what is on an aid. I think this part of their US site might really be of interest to you. Ways to better hearing - 3 steps to a customized hearing aid | Phonak - life is on
 
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