Science & Technology Addressing Deafness
Traditional alarm clocks that rouse people by emitting noise of a normal level do not work for most deaf and hearing impaired.
Instead, extremely loud sounds, flashes of light or vibrating pads are much more effective at waking a hearing impaired person from a deep sleep.
For those who are merely hard of hearing, a 'sonic boom' alarm clock could be a good fit. It works just like a regular alarm clock except that the noise it puts out at the prescribed time is way above the decibel level of a regular alarm clock. The one drawback to this kind of clock is that it can be so loud it can wake up many more than the user!
A popular form of alarm clock for people with hearing impairments is one that looks like a conventional clock except it has a plug in the back where a lamp can be attached to it. When the set time arrives, instead of making noise, the lamp begins to flash on and off very rapidly, and these flashes of light are usually sufficient to rouse a sleeping person. Care must be taken in choosing the lamp to use for such a device, however. A too bright lamp placed too close to the person could cause flashes of light that are painful to the eyes. Another drawback is that the flashing light may also wake up anyone else in the room.
Another popular form of alarm clock for the deaf is one that uses a vibrating pad that is placed under a pillow or mattress. This rouses the sleeping person by vibrating very forcefully when the set time arrives. Many people prefer this method since they sleep so deeply the only kind of flashing light that can wake them is one that is very bright and can be uncomfortable. Of course, anyone else sleeping on the bed may be awakened, not just the person that set the alarm.
In case loud noises, flashing lights or a vibrating bed are not suitable, a vibrating wrist watch is another option. This is a perfect solution that wakes only the person wearing the watch.
