Hi Janice. Cell phones have an accessibility rating. Ask the sales person if the rating is not shown. There are two letters, M and T, and range from 1 to 4. The M stands for Microphone, which is how well the cell phone works with the hearing aid microphone. The T stands for telecoil, which is how well the cell phone works with the hearing aid telecoil. If you don't know what a telecoil is, hang on, I'll get to it. The ratings, 1 to 4, is a measure of quality (1 is the worst, and 4 is the best). So, the best cell phones have an M4 T4 rating. A rating of M3 T3 is very good too but do not choose a phone below a 3 rating. Stick with M4 T4, M4 T3, M3 T4, or M3 T3. Your moms hearing aids may or may not have a telecoil. The audiologist would have to enable it if they do have them. The telecoil allows the audio from the phone to be inductively coupled to the hearing aid instead of via an audible signal. The telecoil would give a better sound than an audible sound. Mom would have to remember to turn on the telecoil program if she wanted to listen to the phone in this manner. The best way to get the sound to the hearing aid would be via Bluetooth. She would hear through both ears instead of just the ear that the phone was held up to. Many people that have hearing loss use the speakerphone option to hear via both ears if Bluetooth is not an option. I would recommend trying several phones that have at least a M3 T3 and let her try them before deciding which phone works best for her. Before my Bluetooth hearing aids, I had a Casio flip phone. I went to the Verizon store to try different phones and the Casio worked best for me. I doubt that phone is even made anymore.
Tony in Michigan