Williams Sound PockeTalker Ultra Duo Sound Amplifier with Headphone & Earbud, Year Supply of Batteries

I have three of them for a family member. One for his bedroom. One for the dining room. One for his carry all bag. I do not want him to be without them. Easy to operate. Comfortable to wear. Effective. Generally good quality.

I bought this item as a gift for my elderly mother who is hard of hearing. We had tried the amplifier-in-ear route to see if she would tolerate a hearing aid. These devices didn’t work out..at 89 she had trouble trying to adjust the settings and didn’t have the dexterity to place it in her ears. This device is far more convenient albeit not a perfect solution to her issues...she generally keeps this clipped to her sweater or whatever she has on . I can tell when she has it on because she absolutely hears clearly and can participate meaningfully in a conversation. I’ve tried it on myself and find the sound quality very good although there is a lot of scratchy noise and echoing if the microphone moves or rubs against clothing. The headphones are less than perfect—they slide around a lot, and I frequently have to help her adjust them to stay on her head...I think this could be remedied by wrapping the strap portion in vet wrap or something to give them friction against her hair...She has some trouble understanding the volume adjustment and I think this is her issue and not an issue with the device, as I find it simple. Frequently when she tries to turn it off, she turns the volume higher which results in a high pitched squeal! If you have a senior who is not able to tolerate a hearing aid, I would recommend this device without reservation; it has permitted my mother and me to have conversations without my having to shout!! Caring for a loved one who has a hearing loss but refuses or is unable to try other measures of assistance can be a lonely road..I am grateful for this device and recommend trying it if you are in my shoes! Happy New Year!

I've bought many of these for my mom over the years, after wasting tons of money buying hearing aids that she kept removing and losing. It works great. The headset is great. The electronics are great. Batteries last forever. It's easy to use. BUT. BUT. BUT. Why a MONO jack? It's so hard to find replacement mono headphones!! And headphones are easy to lose in a care home. Please, Williams, make a stereo version. It's so much easier to buy replacement stereo headphones.And we need replacement microphones too. I don't know why my mom removes it and loses it. Better, make a version with a built-in microphone! (Although I do appreciate the value of being able to put the mic at the end of a long cable. Bluetooth would be nice, I wouldn't want to pay the price.)I have tried the competitors, but they are really a waste of money. I guess I'm stuck with Williams until a quality company makes a competitive item. But $179 is robbery. You can buy an awesome 4 band CCrane radio for that price! This is just a tiny amplifier. What? A few transistors, capacitors, and resistors? Pennies!It's a market niche for some good analog electronics company to exploit. It must cost nothing to make these.

My husband is hearing impaired and literally, for years, I have been so frustrated and angry with him because he refuses to buy a new pair of hearing aids. Just won’t do it. Consequently, we fight constantly because he won’t keep the one hearing aid in so he can hear me. I end up shouting to be heard plus the tv is on so LOUD that I have to leave the room to get away from all the noise.I ordered this for him and it arrived a couple of days ago. In that extremely short time our lives have improved so much that frankly, it makes me weep. No more hideously loud tv, no more repeating myself (louder each time) a minimum of three times to say one thing. And from his perspective, he can CLEARLY hear the show he’s watching and is so much more relaxed himself! He can hear me and we can have a normal conversation. I’m telling you, this is really a life changing device!I just ordered another microphone so he doesn’t have to unplug the one attached to the tv and he can just pop that on and come out of his “man cave” to participate in the day. I had this in the cart for about 10 days waiting for him to decide. Finally, I made the move, ordered it and it arrived the next day. We couldn’t be happier, honestly.If you’re hesitating at all…stop. This is worth every penny and is even better than his hearing aids. Do yourself a favor and order this now. Also, I would recommend ordering an extra microphone for the reason I mentioned earlier. I just wish we had known about it, discovered it earlier. Would’ve saved a LOT of aggravation. This is THE best item I/we’ve ever ordered from Amazon! The. BEST.

Got this for my father-in-law who has very limited hearing from years as an explosive supervisor in mining. After years of it still works great and provides quality sound for his daily needs.