Gadgets to Help Seniors Navigate the Modern World

Sometimes the greatest hurdles when growing old are technological. Seniors often lack the muscle memory or ingrained experiences to properly use modern conveniences. But that doesn’t mean those experiences cannot be made more accessible with some basic tools and aids.

Bluetooth hearing aids – An old medical device, with a modern twist. These hearing aids can connect to audio sources via Bluetooth, allowing persons with hearing impairment to get the sound directly from the source. By connecting wirelessly to your stereo, computer or TV, the wearer can hear their media clearly without boosting all other sounds around them. Many such hearing aids can also boost the clarity of spoken words, helping those with conditions like auditory neuropathy or tinnitus.

Vertical Mice – 90 degrees can make a world of difference. Vertical mice function just like normal mice, but are ergonomically designed to alleviate stresses on the hand, wrist and forearm. They’re often used by sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome or chronic wrist tendonitis, but they can be extremely beneficial for arthritis sufferers, too.

Digital Magnifiers – These relatively inexpensive items combine a camera and a screen to help magnify small text or objects for the reader. They have several advantages over your basic looking glass, including the ability to take still images, and even to digitally highlight or sharpen text to make it easy to read. Some now even have the ability to ‘read’ text and convert it to speech on the fly. This is a tremendous aide for persons with compromised vision who don’t want to stop living life to its fullest.

Large-Button or Simplified TV Remotes – We take the remote control for granted. I’m sure a lot of people reading this may never have used a TV without one. But as you grow older, they can become a problem. For starters, the buttons are getting smaller and harder to press in modern remotes. A remote with larger buttons and ergonomic casing can help with that. But then you get to the issue of too many buttons. Modern remotes have so many functions which the average user will rarely – if ever – utilize. In those cases, a simplified remote with fewer functions may be helpful.

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