[Boatanchors] CABLE SUGGESTIONS

[K0DAN]

Please forgive if this is too far off topic, but I don't know of another 
reflector with more competent people to make reliable suggestions!

SITUATION: Wife has hearing impairment. 99% hearing loss in left ear, 50% 
loss in right ear, with "telephone quality" bandpass to right ear. Wife 
travels a lot and has an iPod to listen to music, podcasts, etc. She misses 
a lot of the audio mixes, since it's all stereo, and the left channel is 
useless to her. I want to buy/build a rugged cable/adaptor which patches 
both right + left channel audio to any earbuds or earphones she might be 
using.

PROBLEM: "Stereo" does not exist for her. I have built some Y-cables that 
combine left + right audio to feed her iPod, but
a) The earphone jack on her iPod (it's a Nano) has very little 
space/clearance
b) All cable assemblies are subject to mechanical stress and eventually fail 
or become intermittent
c) Conventional miniplugs & audio cables, such as available at Radio Shack, 
etc., are pure garbage, do not solder well, and do  not offer any strain 
relief
d) Commercial "mono" Y-cables & adaptors are either too large to fit the 
small clearances required of the iPod Nano, and/or are of poor quality
e) Any homebrew Y-cables I've built have poor durability and fail or become 
intermittent soon after use in the real world

DESIRED SOLTUION:
a) Short Y-cable, with armored cable and connectors, strain relief, etc.
b) The smaller/lighter the better
c) Stereo miniplug to iPod Nano of suitable small size (diameter) to fit the 
iPod. (If you have ever used a Nano, you know how little space is available 
for a plug! This is especially so if you use a case to protect the 
Nano....we're talking REALLY small clearances!)
d) Homebrew or commercial solution acceaptable, but good mechanical fit and 
rugged construction are mandatory

In the land mobile world, this type of thing is commonplace (altho pricey) 
for surveillance accessories, public safety earplugs, etc. Such hardware 
uses fancy Teflon cables, mil-spec connectors, etc. That'd be OK! 
Unfortunately, there don't seem to be many audio accessories for the hearing 
impaired which do simple things like mix right + left ear audio!

Any help/suggestions?!?

Tnx es 73

Dan
K0DAN