What are alerting systems and how can they help?

Alerting systems are used to alert deaf, deafblind or hard-of-hearing people to the fact that an alarm or bell is ringing.

They can be connected to door bells, fire alarms, baby monitors, telephone sockets for textphones and phones, or can be set to go off if a window is opened. The deaf or deafblind person can be alerted via a vibrating pager, a watch, a pad or by a flashing light.

What should I look for?

Some pagers have different vibrating patterns depending on what triggered them so if you have trouble seeing the visual indicator then this may help.

Some examples of alerting systems

Doorbells

Various types of doorbells can alert a deafblind person when someone is at the door. One example is a portable vibrating door chime system. The receiver can be put in a pocket or clipped onto a belt so the vibration can be felt when someone rings the doorbell.

Smoke alarms

Wired or wireless smoke alarms are available. One example is an alarm which operates in the same way as a normal smoke detector. However it also has an integrated radio transmitter that can send a signal to a compatible vibrating receiver / pager.

Baby monitors

A broad range of baby monitors are available. Some have a vibrating box for under the pillow to wake you when the baby cries.

Alarm clocks

Some alarm clocks have vibrating pads that slip under your pillow. When the alarm goes off the vibration wakes you. There are also tactile clocks that come with vibrating pads

Possible stockists

Please note: this list is not exhaustive and Sense is not responsible for the content of external sites, nor do we endorse any of the products mentioned.

Action for Deafness 
Action on Hearing Loss
Connevans
Clofield Ltd - Silent Alert System
Sarabec