The blog of Vetties: d/Deaf alarms = useful but not fun!

Posted on August 6, 2015 by



Many of you hearing people who have d/Deaf partners and/or family members know the “joys” of the d/Deaf alarm.

  • The “beautiful” LOUD noise it makes when it goes off at 6:15am!! You start work at 10am.
  • The “comforting” head-shaking vibrations when it slides its way under the bedsheets in the night to underneath your pillow.
  • The “musical” beats that play when it falls down the back of the bed, wedges itself between the bed leg and the wall and you wake up in a sweat panic thinking the house is falling down until you realise what the noise is.
  • Your partner/family member have left the house and finally you can enjoy a blissful and uninterrupted snooze before work. NOPE! Guess who forgot to turn their alarm off?

There have been many times when the alarm has incorporated itself into my dreams… I am sailing along the silky blue ocean, a soft breeze blowing through my hair and I’m looking up into the clear blue sky when I hear a tiny *bong*. I look around and noticed the ship’s foghorn signalling we have arrived at land.

I think to myself that the foghorn is rather quiet when it sounds again but louder. *BONG*. The foghorn noise begins to morph into another noise; *BOOOOOONNNGGGBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR………*                                            I call this the d/Deaf foghorn alarm.

On other occasions, I wake up and Scott has gone to work. I like those times.

When Scott and his brother (also deaf) were younger. His Mum (both parents hearing) came up with a brilliant solution to stop their alarms constantly falling behind the beds and rattling against the wall.

She sewed a link to a ribbon, wrapped around the lead of the alarm and sewed it to the pillow. Problem solved! I might try that with Scott’s.

d/Deaf alarm under the right pillow

Verity works as a Support Worker for people with a single/dual sensory loss (d/Deaf, blind, d/Deafblind) and her family are all hearing. Scott is hard of hearing, works as a Furniture Maker and has mixed d/Deaf and hearing family. They have been together for 4 years, engaged for 1 year and their wedding is next year. They say: “We have written a blog about the funny side of our d/Deaf and hearing relationship and we hope you enjoy reading it!” Read it here.

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Posted in: vetties