Listening to music wirelessly - Alzheimer's filter

July 23, 2014 1:49 AM

How can my brother who is in a home with Alzheimer's listen to music?

My brother is in a home with advanced early onset Alzheimer's. One of the few things he still enjoys is listening to music. However, when his wife puts any obvious equipment in his room - IPod, Music Player, etc - he destroys it. One way would be to stream music to his room by some wireless device which could be concealed or not have any wires or component for him to pull This would need to be easy to operate for the home staff (on/off switch), relatively small and, ideally, not too expensive, not least because of the risk of theft in the home (by the other Alzheimer's patients who have no concept of meum and tuum). What are my options? I'm in the UK.

posted by TheRaven to Technology (3 answers total)

In lieu of other ideas, a remote controlled sound system mounted so high on the wall (when he's not there) that he can't touch it? Ie, needs a ladder for adjustments so family can change batteries etc.
posted by taff at 4:53 AM on July 23, 2014

Would it help if he doesn't recognize that it's an MP3 player (and agree it could also go on a high shelf)? There are lots of plush MP3 players available.
posted by Mchelly at 5:12 AM on July 23, 2014

Seems like you just need bluetooth. Get a refurbished or used ipod touch and a pair of bluetooth headphones - I like the Meelectronics Air-Fi AF32 which can be had for $58 on Amazon right now. Alternatively get a pair of Koss Portapro headphones with a bluetooth adapter like the BlueAnt ribbon.
posted by mattholomew at 6:34 AM on July 23, 2014