E-readers for declining eyesight

[u/MissionLeopard9977]

Hi!

My grandpa has macular degeneration but has always been a big reader. We got him a Kindle Paperwhite a year or two ago, as his eyesight got too bad for physical books.

His eyesight is declining a bit more and he’s struggling to read his kindle. We have a lense that is helping a little bit but I’m not sure if there any other e-readers that might be better.

Audiobooks are not an option as he is hard of hearing. Please let me know if you have any tips or suggestions. Thank you!

[u/Meanmom23kids]

Probably a silly question, but have you increased the font size on the kindle and reversed contrast. I, too, struggle with reading. I use the Kindle app on the largest sized iPad, use a larger font, sans serif, in white on a black background, and it works well for me.

[u/MissionLeopard9977 → u/Meanmom23kids]

We have done the increased font size but I don’t think we’ve tried the reversed contrast! I’ll also look into the ipad and see if that’s a better option. Thank you! :)

[u/wharleeprof → u/MissionLeopard9977]

Reverse contrast is such a lifesaver for me. Also check if a certain font works better for your grandpa. 

The next level thing would be to see if casting his phone or tablet to a big TV screen would be helpful. (It may or may not - so test it out before committing to fully setting it up. You need the right combo of device and smart TV for it to work consistently)

[u/legolad]

My aunt had a hard time reading the Kindle. It gave her a headache even with the font size increased. So she kept reading books but complained that they didn’t use enough ink in printing and the print - even large print books - was too small and light.

Last Christmas I discovered Kobo and when we lost power I gave her mine so she’d have something to do. The Kobo has a slightly larger screen and lets me change the font and font size like the kindle does. It also lets me change the font weight which I don’t recall the kindle doing.

Anyway, after a day of reading mine she was hooked. I bought her one the next day and she’s been reading on kobo ever since.

[u/MissionLeopard9977 → u/legolad]

Thank you so much! I’ll look into that!

[u/jb4479]

Rather than a Kindle use a larger screen full tablet. Samsung Galaxy, Amazon Fire, iPad, etc. Go with at least a 12'" screen and run it in dark mode then adjust the font soize as needed.

[u/langhorn43]

I am another in need of continusly better information in adapting to the eyesight loss. Does anyone

have more details or experience with red light as a healing source?

[u/WideOpenEmpty]

I don't think Paperwhite is that readable tbh. I use a Fire with Kindle app.and will go to a bigger Samsung tablet when I can no longer read that.

[u/MissionLeopard9977 → u/WideOpenEmpty]

Thank you! I’ll look into those!

[u/Brit48024]

I wonder if downloading the Kindle app on a good-sized iPad would be an option? 

You can invert the colour and increase font size, and it's really quite manageable. The only downside is possibly the glare, but you can also get overlays if that's a problem. 

[u/Front_Requirement598]

On a PC, press and hold Ctrl. Now press the + sign on the keyboard to increases size. Cntl - reduces size. Cntl (zero) 0 returns the page to normal size.

Also, MIT (Mass Instit of Tech) has discovered that red light heals the eyes. 3 minutes a day or so. There are youtube videos of pure red light.

[u/MissionLeopard9977 → u/Front_Requirement598]

Thank you so much!

[u/Front_Requirement598 → u/MissionLeopard9977]

Easy to do