AAAARGHH She has lost her hearing aids. BOTH of them!!!

[Evoque]

I changed the batteries in Mum's hearing aids on Monday evening - it is a weekly job, which I normally do on Sundays, but I was away at the weekend.

Today (Wednesday) I took her for a hair appointment. I guessed from the number of "What"s that she wasn't wearing her hearing aids, but I decided to check properly once we got back home.

Right enough, she wasn't wearing them.

Can we find them anywhere? No. I have had to leave her there in her flat without them, because I'd just nipped out from work to take her to her hair appointment.

I have just recently secured Council funding for a carer to come to her in the evenings, to make sure she has cream on her legs (the skin condition is poor) and to encourage her to go to bed (no success so far, but we will keep trying).

Without her hearing aids she might not hear the entryphone buzzer. It is loud, but if she dozes off she'll be unlikely to wake up to let the carer in. The carers aren't allowed / don't want a key to let themselves in because of problems should they lose it.

We have looked in all the usual places, as she has a habit of taking them out and putting them on the table by her chair, or on any nearby flat surface, or in her well-stuffed handbag. Nowhere to be seen. Neither of them.

Aaaaaarghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nellbelles]

Can’t help with suggestions of where to look for the hearing aids, but could you arrange for the fitting of a key say so the carers can let themselves in?

 

[JBK]

I changed the batteries in Mum's hearing aids on Monday evening - it is a weekly job, which I normally do on Sundays, but I was away at the weekend.

Today (Wednesday) I took her for a hair appointment. I guessed from the number of "What"s that she wasn't wearing her hearing aids, but I decided to check properly once we got back home.

Right enough, she wasn't wearing them.

Can we find them anywhere? No. I have had to leave her there in her flat without them, because I'd just nipped out from work to take her to her hair appointment.

I have just recently secured Council funding for a carer to come to her in the evenings, to make sure she has cream on her legs (the skin condition is poor) and to encourage her to go to bed (no success so far, but we will keep trying).

Without her hearing aids she might not hear the entryphone buzzer. It is loud, but if she dozes off she'll be unlikely to wake up to let the carer in. The carers aren't allowed / don't want a key to let themselves in because of problems should they lose it.

We have looked in all the usual places, as she has a habit of taking them out and putting them on the table by her chair, or on any nearby flat surface, or in her well-stuffed handbag. Nowhere to be seen. Neither of them.

Aaaaaarghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh , how I can relate to that.....if I can find the hearing aid it's most likely I won't be able to find the batteries. I have a hiding place for them but........ Another trip to surgery to get more, but low & behold they reappear in the hiding place 2 mins after I return home. Don't know how that happened Must get a new hiding place!

 

[Evoque]

Can’t help with suggestions of where to look for the hearing aids, but could you arrange for the fitting of a key say so the carers can let themselves in?

Hi Nellbelles
No, we can't do that, because this is the main door to her retirement apartment building I'm talking about. As for her flat, that has a keysafe, so that if a visitor is allowed into the building they can let themselves in to Mum's flat.
However, the other residents all have strict instructions not to let just any old "visitor" in, for security reasons! The idea is that it is the homeowner who buzzes them in.

 

[Evoque]

Oh , how I can relate to that.....if I can find the hearing aid it's most likely I won't be able to find the batteries. I have a hiding place for them but........ Another trip to surgery to get more, but low & behold they reappear in the hiding place 2 mins after I return home. Don't know how that happened Must get a new hiding place!

Yes, JBK, I'm secretly hoping that the h/aids will resurface. They have been known to do that in the past.
As for the batteries, Mum has them posted to her, and I keep them in a safe place in the cupboard, so at least she has batteries, even if she has nothing to put them in!

 

[Selinacroft]

Perhaps social services can get a special buzzer that vibrates when doorbell rings. I was offered all sorts of gadgets for dad but mostly missed the moment and was always offered them once he had got past that stage and moved on to the next.

 

[Beate]

Look in the most stupid places you can think of - bins, shoes, fridge etc. You'll be surprised where items are mislaid to!

 

[MaryH]

Mom has misplaced her hearing aid for up to 2 weeks. Currently her helpline button is missing for close to 1 month. sigh..

Well at least it might turn up. We had to take Mom's hearing aid in for repairs since she put it in her walker basket and it fell out when she was with my sister and brother in law and the hearing aid fell out of the case and Mom stepped on 1 of them .. double sigh.. they are not sure if repair would be free or C$350 (about 200 quid)...

 

[Rosettastone57]

My MIL has this problem with hearing aids and often mislaid them. The last pair were found by the dustbin. To try and lessen this issue MIL has carers in every morning who put in the aids and change batteries weekly.

 

[campervan21]

Mums the same losing hearing aids carelink bracelet, I find them in dustbin, wrapped up in tissue hidden at the back of kitchen cupboards, sometimes they disappear for days, weeks then , suddenly there they are , until the next time , and they turn up in places I have looked in ,

 

[elvismad]

my mum loses her dentures. Since moving into assisted living with care in Sept , mum has lost a full set of dentures and a top set. We are now down to her older dentures - which do fit - as mum struggled so much with the process of having replacements made last time, that it seems cruel to force the issue. I find them in many places, under the bed, wrapped in tissue in a pocket or in her handbag, under the pillow, in her make up bag but hardly ever in the denture box. Apparently its the kids that hide them?????

 

[Witzend]

So frustrating when things are 'lost', aka so successfully hidden that you go mad trying to find them.

From experience, I can only suggest checking absolutely everything that could possibly serve as a container before chucking out - empty food packets, etc. Check all pockets, old shoes/handbags lurking at the back of the wardrobe - though I dare say you've done this already. Check any screwed up tissues, soiled clothing that have been put in the bin. My sister and Bil once found a diamond ring that had been 'lost' , 'someone has taken it!' - wrapped up in a dirty item of clothing in the bin. Pure luck that they happened to be there in time.

Having said that, my mother once hid the keys to her French windows - she had a major Thing about keeping them closed/locked all the time - so successfully that we never found them even when clearing her house after she finally went into her CH. But at least I was able to get the lock changed - and keep a spare key for myself.