... my dad is 76 and hard of hearing and he can't hear his phone ring unless nothing is going on in the room... is there anything you can find/do that's loud and OMG for us??
There's three things to try:
1) Make his phone speaker sound louder. You know how a phone plays music louder when you cup your hands around it's speaker? You can get a similar effect by placing the phone in a small ceramic or glass bowl or large mug. Put some coins in the bottom with a small microfiber eyeglass cleaning cloth on top (so you don't scratch the phone on the coins) and the rattle of the coins will make it even louder. Soft surfaces absorb sound, hard surfaces tend to reflect them more
2) Try a Bluetooth speaker with a wall charger. You probably don't want one with a microphone / speakerphone in case he hears the living room speaker while he's in the kitchen. Or, maybe you do want that...
I have seen some LED lightbulb replacements that happen to have a Bluetooth speaker in them. (
NEWSTYLE Indoor LED Light Bulb With Built-In Bluetooth Speaker) These don't seem to flash an alert when sound goes through, the light works separately from the sound.
Some Bluetooth party speakers are always lit up and just change the colors as sound plays. (
Amazon.com: ION Party Starter Portable Bluetooth Speaker With Built-In Light Show)
Other options might be this little gadget,
http://www.hearworldusa.com/alertin...th-cell-phone-flashing-ring-signaler/]Trellie Bluetooth Cell Phone Flashing Ring Signaler - HearWorldUSA[/url]
Trellie Bluetooth Signaller - Amazon that might work for you. It uses 2 AAA batteries that need to be changed every so often, and one reviewer liked it but said the battery door was loose.
Finally, I saw this gadget.
docooler Bluetooth Bracelet Vibrating Alert It says it has 90 hours of standby time and I see a microUSB charger cable in the pictures. I also saw a few similar Chinese knockoffs of this thing, and don't know about the quality. Though it does seem like a cool idea.
3) Try different ringtones. Some are LOUD, like the one LK mentioned above, but I find that annoying ones can work as well. Find some music he REALLY can't stand, and use that. If I hear Harlem Shake or anything from Pat Boone's album 'In a Metal Mood', I instinctively run to silence my phone.
You could also try a recording of your voice yelling out to him. Since he knows your voice, he will react to that more than if someone random person was yelling on a ringtone.
I hope this helps!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJEwo_gwO9M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N5mOyMK7WE&index=4&list=PLwTwT9UPfBAsLr3mmCwkXWuM_vcIwaZWH