Is Your Home Safe for a Deaf Person?

The shrill noise was constant, beeping at intervals of mere seconds. I lay in bed assuming it was someone's mobile 'phone. Waiting did nothing.

Through the fog of waking, it dawned on me that I was alone in the house. This posed a problem. I had never heard that sound before, so I was going to have to track it down. I wished myself luck with that one.

I have unilateral deafness; that is to say that I have no hearing at all in my right ear. In truth, if I had just turned over in bed, I could have made that horrific beep beep go away. It's possible that had already happened. I once slept through road-builders using a pneumatic drill outside my house, because I'd lay with my left ear burrowed into the pillow. Blessed silence. I often think I have the best deal, when it comes to all things auditory.

But I was awake now and that loud beeping was getting on my nerves. I wasn't worried. If it had been the smoke alarm, then I was in the best place to find out. My whole bed would have shaken and lights flashed on and off like something out of The Exorcist. There is a disc under the pillow, which is connected via Wi-Fi to the fire detectors. It is designed specifically for the hearing impaired.

Just to make sure, I sat up and double-checked the router box. Its lights told me that it was working perfectly. I forced myself out of bed and began my process of elimination.

For those with unilateral deafness, there is no direction of sound. Things may become louder and quieter, but with something that shrill the latter didn't appear to be happening. People with perfect hearing would have just followed the noise to the source. I had to rely upon my vision and deduction skills, neither of which are great first thing in the morning.

First stop was the actual smoke alarm. It wasn't flashing a warning light. Next I wandered into my own sitting room and fished my mobile 'phone out of my hand-bag. It was inert in my hand. I went downstairs and checked the wall unit that governs the heating in our house. All looked fine. I looked across the family computer desk for errant mobile 'phones. None were there, which confirmed that I was alone in the house.

By now, that beeping alarm was louder than it had ever been. I walked into the lounge and I located the noise. It had taken someone with no hearing in one ear several minutes to find it. A fully deaf person would never have heard it at all. It was the carbon monoxide detector and it was flashing red lights at me.

It was a chance meeting that led to our home being kitted out suitably for a hearing impaired resident.

For over three decades, I'd basically trusted providence that, in the event of a fire, I would a) be sleeping on my deaf side or b) a hearing person would be in the house and remember me in their panic.

An off-duty fire officer had patently attended one too many emergencies, where others had relied upon the same luck. As soon as he realized that I had unilateral deafness, he brought up the subject of smoke alarms.

A few minutes later, he was reaching for a pen for my details. They would be added to the list, as soon as he was back at work. In his expert opinion, our house was a tragic accident waiting to happen.

In Britain, it is a national requirement that all fire divisions provide free smoke alarms. Officers will even come to fit them, if necessary. Many also have specialist home units, which deal with the deaf community. These are fire officers who have received extra training. They can, for example, communicate in sign language.

More importantly, fire officers will make an appointment to visit your home. They have smoke alarms which are created especially to alert those who cannot rely upon hearing. They came and did so in my house. They also left the carbon monoxide detector, which gave me such a rude awakening this morning. In short, they potentially saved my life.

There are many advantages to luring burly fire officers into your home. Not least is the fact that they know precisely where smoke alarms should be fitted. It's not general advice. It's based upon an expert eye being cast over the dimensions of your house and the units being placed for maximum protection.

Our smoke alarms are like any others, but for one vital feature. They are Wi-Fi enabled. At the center of my house is a staircase. We have two detectors. Each are fixed to the ceiling - one at the foot of the stairs and the other at the top.

I know exactly what would happen in the event of a fire, because I participate in Test It Tuesday. As with any smoke detector, it emits a shrill sound. The hearing people would know immediately that it is time to get out now and invite those nice fire officers to pay a return visit.

During the daytime, this holds true for me too. No partial deafness is going to stop me hearing something that loud!

There is more acute danger for me, when I'm snug in my bed at night. Lying on my left side, I can't hear pneumatic drills outside my window. I probably slept through a significant amount of time, while the carbon monoxide detector was urgently trying to tell me something. I would easily sleep through a smoke alarm. But not in my house.

Whatever happens with either of those ceiling smoke alarms is being conveyed via Wi-Fi to the receiver box in my bedroom.

If that audible alarm is sounding, then this unit will be flashing lights. It might look quite small, but it is bright. It is enough to make my whole bedroom look as if an alien spaceship is trying to land. Or maybe that was a dream...?

Just in case a powerful light show isn't enough to stir me from my slumber, the receiver has one more trick up its mechanical sleeve. The white cable leading from it is attached to a disc-like pad, which is slotted under my pillow. (At least the fire officers placed it there. After a few nights of it sliding about and banging against the chest of drawers, I secured it in place under the valance sheet too.)

The disc vibrates. It's not a small, polite, self-effacing kind of shaking. It renders the entire mattress trembling like there's a minor earthquake and I'm at ground zero. I defy anyone to sleep through that, especially when your eyes, opening wide in shock, are going to notice the whole room flashing with lights.

This is just one system targeting the home safety of the hearing impaired. Other models can be linked up to the electrical mains. They would cause every light in the house to flash on and off. Others produce strobe lighting and/or vibrating pads for various items of furniture. It is always best to take advice from the fire service, in order to match the most appropriate alarm with the deaf individual.

Of course, nothing bad will ever happen to any of us. Ever. But just on the off-chance that I'm wrong, then it is better to be ready to give yourself, your family and any house guests the greatest chance of survival. Call your local fire brigade and see what they can offer now, to prevent them from having to deal with much worse later.