The best radio for someone with dementia: five kinds compared

Start with how they listen

Before comparing radios, answer four questions. The answers point to the right kind more surely than any list of features.

• How many stations do they really listen to? One, a few, or mostly music from their past?
• Are their stations local, or from another region or country?
• Can they still press a button, or tap a screen, on their own?
• Who fixes it when it goes quiet, and how far away do they live?

Whichever kind you choose, look for the same few things: one action to listen, a volume that can’t go silent, clear labels in words, and nothing to get lost in.

1. One-button radios

A family member sets the station and the volume once, then the other controls are hidden or taken off. What’s left is one big button that turns the radio on and off. Most play FM or DAB, and some also play music from a USB stick.

Best for someone who listens to one station, with someone nearby who can set it up again.

Where it falls short: one station only, and only the ones that reach the house over the air. Changing the station, or finding a lost one, means someone at the radio.

2. Radios with a few big preset buttons

Made for memory loss: two or three big buttons, each saved to a station, with the settings behind a cover and a volume that doesn’t go all the way down. Some beep or speak when a button is pressed.

Best for someone who likes a few stations and can still choose between buttons.

Where it falls short: local stations only, every change needs a visit, and they usually cost more than an ordinary radio.

3. Simple music players

One button, or a lid that plays when it’s lifted, with songs the family has loaded. No stations, no news, no talk: the music they grew up with, the same way every time.

Best in later stages, when live radio has become confusing but familiar songs are still a pleasure.

Where it falls short: no live radio, unless one is built in, and someone has to choose and load the songs.

4. Smart speakers

You ask out loud, and it plays. Nothing to press, and the family can often manage it from an app.

Best for someone who still remembers the exact words to say, and can say them clearly.

Where it falls short: as memory changes, the words get harder to remember. A misheard request can start something else entirely, and there’s no button to fall back on.

5. A spare phone or tablet with Home Station radio

Home Station radio turns a spare Android phone or tablet into a radio with three big buttons, each named in words, and nothing else to press. The family chooses the stations and looks after it from their own phone.

• Stations from almost anywhere, not only the ones that reach the house.
• A volume that stops at the lowest level you choose, so it never goes silent.
• Change stations, see that it’s playing, and use “Fix it” from your phone, wherever you live.
• An alert if it goes offline or a station stops.

Best for someone who listens every day, with family far away or stations from far away.

Where it falls short: it needs Wi-Fi or mobile data, and a tap on a screen instead of a button they can feel. A phone’s speaker is quieter than a radio’s, so a tablet or a small speaker helps. It’s a radio, not a medical device.

Which one to choose

1. One familiar local station

   A one-button radio. Simple, with nothing to change.

2. A few local stations, family nearby

   A radio with big preset buttons.

3. Music matters more than radio

   A simple music player with songs from their past.

4. Family far away, or stations from far away

   A spare phone or tablet with Home Station radio, looked after from yours.

What works today may not work in a year. Choose for where they are now, and keep it in the same place: plugged in, next to their chair.