Senior & mobility-limited · Daily life
The small things that change everything.
Hearing-aid batteries. Backup glasses. Denture adhesive. Cane tips. These are not the items that make emergency preparedness lists, but they are the items whose absence can make an older adult unable to function during a disruption.
See the checklistThe principle
Your real emergency kit is your daily routine.
The preparedness industry focuses on specialized gear: water filters, emergency radios, first aid kits. Those things have their place. But for an older adult whose daily functioning depends on hearing aids, glasses, dentures, or a mobility device, the loss of any one of those items during a power outage or evacuation is a more immediate crisis than not having a hand-crank radio.
Without hearing aids, you cannot hear a smoke alarm, a weather alert, or a neighbor calling to check on you. Without glasses, you cannot read a medication label, see a step, or drive to a shelter. Without dentures, your food options collapse to liquids and soft foods. Without a functioning walker or cane, you cannot safely move through your own home.
This guide covers the everyday dependencies that most emergency plans overlook, and how to maintain access to them when normal conditions are interrupted.
Hearing aids
If you cannot hear, you cannot be warned.
Disposable battery hearing aids
Zinc-air batteries come in four sizes, identified by the color of the tab on the package: yellow (size 10), brown (size 312), orange (size 13), and blue (size 675). Know your size. Write it down and keep the note with your medication list.
Batteries last 5 to 14 days depending on the size and how many hours a day you wear your hearing aids. Keep at least a one-month supply on hand at all times. Store them in the sealed blister packaging at room temperature, away from humidity. Do not remove the tab until you are ready to use them; once the tab is removed, the battery begins to drain whether it is in the hearing aid or not.
Buy batteries from a source with high turnover. Zinc-air batteries have a shelf life, and old stock from a slow-selling retailer may not last as long as fresh batteries from a busy pharmacy or audiologist's office.
Rechargeable hearing aids
Most rechargeable hearing aids charge in a case that plugs into a USB port or wall outlet. During a power outage, that case becomes useless unless you have a backup power source. A portable USB power bank ($15 to $30) can charge the hearing-aid case multiple times and is small enough to keep on the nightstand.
Know your hearing-aid charging case's connection type: USB-C, micro-USB, or a proprietary cable. Keep a spare cable with the power bank. If you lose or damage the only cable, the power bank is useless.
A full charge on most rechargeable hearing aids lasts 16 to 24 hours. If you reduce streaming and Bluetooth use during an outage, the charge will last longer. Some models have a quick-charge feature that provides several hours of use from a 15 to 30-minute charge.
Protection tip: Moisture is the primary enemy of hearing aids. During a power outage, your home may become more humid (no air conditioning, open windows). Keep a hearing-aid dehumidifier or drying jar with your supplies. A simple jar with desiccant packets costs under $10 and extends the life of both the hearing aids and the batteries.
Glasses
Keep the old pair. Always.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends keeping a backup pair of prescription glasses in your emergency kit. For older adults, this advice is more than convenience. Without corrected vision, you cannot read medication labels, see a step edge, identify who is at the door, or navigate safely in an unfamiliar setting.
The backup pair
When you get a new prescription, do not discard your old glasses. Even if the prescription has changed slightly, an old pair provides far better vision than no glasses at all. Put the old pair in a hard case, label it "backup," and store it with your emergency supplies or in a consistent location you can find in the dark.
If you do not have an old pair, online retailers now offer prescription glasses starting around $20 to $40. Order a basic pair in your current prescription as a dedicated backup. Polycarbonate lenses are more durable than standard plastic for an emergency pair.
Keep a copy of your current prescription with your emergency documents. If your glasses are lost or destroyed, this allows you to order replacements quickly.
Reading glasses and magnifiers
If you depend on reading glasses to see medication labels, phone screens, or paperwork, keep a spare pair in your emergency supplies and another next to your medications. Over-the-counter reading glasses in your approximate strength cost $5 to $15 at any pharmacy.
A small handheld magnifying glass is a useful backup for reading fine print on medication bottles, especially in dim conditions. One with a built-in LED light costs under $10 and addresses two problems at once.
If you use bifocals or progressive lenses, be aware that these are more expensive and slower to replace than single-vision glasses. This makes the backup pair even more important.
Dentures and dental
Without them, your diet collapses.
For the roughly 20 million Americans who wear full or partial dentures, losing access to denture adhesive, cleaning supplies, or the dentures themselves during a disruption means an immediate reduction in the ability to eat solid food. Emergency food plans that depend on crackers, granola bars, or dried fruit become irrelevant.
Keep a two-week supply of denture adhesive, cleaning tablets, and a spare denture brush with your emergency supplies. If you use a denture bath, keep a spare container. If your dentures require a specific overnight soak solution, maintain a backup bottle.
In your emergency food planning, include soft foods that you can eat comfortably without dentures if necessary: applesauce, yogurt, canned soup, mashed potatoes, pudding, scrambled eggs. This is a fallback, not a preference, but it means you can still eat if your dentures are damaged or lost.
If you have a partial denture or dental bridge, carry a small denture repair kit. Temporary repair adhesive can hold a broken piece in place until you can reach a dentist. These kits cost $5 to $10 at any pharmacy.
Mobility aids
The equipment that keeps you moving.
A cane, walker, wheelchair, or rollator is not optional equipment. If it fails during a disruption, your ability to move safely through your home, evacuate, or reach supplies is immediately compromised.
Canes
Check the rubber tip monthly. A worn tip slips on smooth floors, especially wet ones. Replacement tips cost $3 to $5 and are available at any pharmacy. Keep one spare tip with your supplies. If the cane is adjustable, verify the locking mechanism holds firmly.
Walkers and rollators
Check the glides or wheels quarterly. Tennis balls on walker legs wear down and need replacing. Rollator wheels can lock or lose tread. Keep spare glides or tennis balls on hand. Check all folding joints and locking mechanisms to make sure they hold securely.
Wheelchairs
For manual chairs, check tire pressure monthly if the tires are pneumatic. Keep a small hand pump accessible. For powered chairs, keep the battery charged and know how long a full charge lasts. See Backup Power for Medical Equipment for charging plans during outages.
Stair lifts
Most stair lifts have a battery backup that operates for a limited number of trips during a power outage. Know how many trips your backup battery supports and plan accordingly. If you live in a multi-story home and the stair lift fails, have a plan for staying on one level until power returns.
Scooters
Mobility scooters have the same power vulnerability as powered wheelchairs. Know the range on a full charge and keep the battery topped off. A flat tire on a scooter is not a minor inconvenience; it stops you from getting to the pharmacy, the grocery store, or a neighbor's house.
Repair basics
Keep a small toolkit with the hex keys and screwdrivers that fit your specific mobility device. A loose bolt on a wheelchair armrest or a detached walker leg brace is fixable in minutes if you have the right tool. Without it, the device may be unusable until a repair shop opens.
Often overlooked
Things nobody tells you to pack.
Standard emergency supply lists are written for the general population. They include water, food, flashlights, and first aid. They rarely include the items that an older adult depends on daily but never thinks of as "emergency supplies" because they are just part of life.
- Compression stockings: If you wear them daily, a multi-day disruption without them can cause swelling that makes it difficult to wear shoes or walk comfortably. Keep at least one spare pair
- CPAP supplies: Filters, tubing, mask cushions, and distilled water for humidifiers. See Backup Power for Medical Equipment for the electrical side
- Skin care supplies: Moisturizers, prescribed creams, wound care supplies. Dry or fragile skin that is normally managed with daily products can crack and break down within days without them
- Adaptive utensils: If you use built-up handles, weighted utensils, or plate guards, these do not come in the emergency kit you buy at the hardware store. Pack a set with your grab-and-go supplies
- Extra house key: If your hands are stiff and you drop the only key in the dark, getting back inside your own home becomes the emergency. Keep a spare in a lockbox or with a trusted neighbor
- Phone charger cable: Not the one plugged into the wall. A spare, in a known location, that you can connect to a power bank. If your phone dies, your connection to help dies with it
Your checklist
Walk through this list once.
Check each item that applies to you. For anything you are missing, add it to your next shopping trip or order it online. Most of these items cost under $15 individually.
Vision
- Backup prescription glasses in a hard case
- Spare reading glasses near medication storage
- Copy of current eyeglass prescription with emergency documents
- Magnifying glass with LED light
Hearing
- One-month supply of hearing-aid batteries (correct size noted)
- Or: USB power bank and spare cable for rechargeable hearing aids
- Hearing-aid dehumidifier or drying jar with desiccant
- Cleaning tools (brush, wax pick, vent cleaner)
Dental
- Two-week supply of denture adhesive
- Denture cleaning tablets and spare brush
- Temporary denture repair kit
- Soft-food options in emergency food supply
Mobility
- Spare cane tip
- Walker glides or tennis balls (spare set)
- Hand pump for pneumatic wheelchair tires
- Small toolkit with hex keys and screwdrivers for your device
Connected guides
Related sections worth knowing.
Senior & Mobility-Limited Hub
Back to the full section.
Backup Power for Medical Equipment
Powered wheelchairs, CPAP, stair lifts, and rechargeable hearing aids all need electricity. Sizing your backup power.
Medication Preparedness
The medication list that pairs with your everyday essentials checklist.
Preparing on a Fixed Income
How to build a supply buffer gradually when the budget is tight.
Preparing with Limited Mobility
Evacuation planning, exit testing, and home modifications for mobility device users.
Lighting & Fall Prevention
Battery-powered lighting and home modifications that work when the power is out.