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I'm hoping the STW collective wizardry can come up with a suggestion here. My elderly MIL is in a care home and she keeps losing her hearing aids. They always reappear, usually stuffed down the side of the chair in which she spends the days. Last Tuesday the care home brought in some agency carers and now both hearing aids have disappeared for good; we think an agency carer must have taken them away by mistake. Caring for Grandma is now even more stressful because she can't hear you unless you shout very loud.
How can I label a small plastic object about the size of a Brazil nut, clearly and indelibly? I though of buying a Rotring pen and hand-writing her name using India ink but is that indelible and will it resist soap, body lotion, sweat, humidity etc? Engraving would be good but might go through the plastic casing. I can print a small sticky label at work on a Dymo printer but the paper labels will get grubby and wear out and the adhesive will go soft.
Any suggestions?
A fine Sharpie and a steady hand.
Spray paint?
RFID
Mix a drop of food colouring into some superglue & apply some to the hearing aid case?
Obviously allow to dry before giving back to the wearer & probably worth checking that the food colouring still allows the superglue to set....
It only needs a dot (or two) of indelible marker/paint to render identifiable. No need for a name?
A blob of nail varnish will last longer than any marker pen I'd have thought
What Malvern and Yunki say - then let the care workers know. TBH I am surprised they haven't suggested a solution as it must happen all the time
this is stw we can't have all sensible suggestions...
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How to indelibly label a very small object?
Get someone pregnant with it
A bit of hot glue will have them stuck in granny's ears for goot. Ergo, nil to lose.
DrP
A bit of hot glue will have them stuck in granny's ears for goot. Ergo, nil to lose.DrP
He's a Doctor, you can trust his advice!
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[/img]Draw on them to make them look like big dangly earrings.
You could use a focussed ion beam to write here name on there along with your name, your phone number, address and probably a lot more.
Or how about just putting a dab of nail varnish on there, or two dabs of different colours and giving a photo to the nursing home staff so they know they are hers. They could use different colour combinations for different people. A bit like the colour bands on resistors.
Laser etching ?
[url= http://www.lightinthebox.com/neje-high-power-500mw-diy-laser-box-laser-engraving-machine-laser-printer_p4058229.html?currency=GBP&litb_from=paid_adwords_shopping&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&adword_mt=&adword_ct=84187195634&adword_kw=&adword_pos=1o8&adword_pl=&adword_net=g&adword_tar=&adw_src_id=1810908567_301579154_21687113474_pla-78632005276&gclid=CK240JjLnc0CFRKNGwodvYIMuA ]You could even buy yourself a new toy[/url]
Microdot like in 1970s spy movies.
Nail varnish painted on with a fine modelling brush?
+1 for laser marking. Anyone with a galvo laser will be able to make a small, permanent mark on them with minimal fuss and it will literally take seconds. Depending where you are I may be able to direct you to someone with the right kit
Or how about just putting a dab of nail varnish on there, or two dabs of different colours and giving a photo to the nursing home staff so they know they are hers. They could use different colour combinations for different people. A bit like the colour bands on resistors.
Matching dabs tattooed onto your MIL will make it easy to identify her.
Or, if there's already a serial number or something on the hearing aids you could change your MIL's name by deed poll?
I have house keys colour-coded with nail varnish, it's lasted a long time. So, then, some sort of bar code, or what football team does she follow.
Cool idea, we'll get Grandma's name changed to Phonak!