I have just received my online newsletter from BellaOnLine, The Voice
of Women whose editor is Felicity Bleckley who is Cochlear recipient,
so she knows her stuff. This is a fabulous site and I encourage you
all to subscribe to it and benefit from Felicitys expertise. The
following article is so important that I wanted to post it here for
you to read, it could save your life. (Thanks Felicity there is some
wonderful tips here).

How deaf people cope with an emergency

Emergencies have a nasty habit of occurring in the middle of the
night. Most deaf or hearing impaired people don't wear their hearing
aids to bed so how do they know if there is an emergency? This is
very difficult for those who cannot hear.

I have had many emergencies and mostly I was lucky they turned out
alright. Perhaps you can identify with some of these and tell me on
the forum (link below) how you handled the situation. Emergency
alerts are geared to the hearing. Fire alarms, ambulances, police,
burglar alarms all rely on sound.

Many years ago while I still had some hearing, one night on a holiday
by myself in a high rise hotel on the Gold Coast I heard the phone
ring. I answered it, but no-one was there. I hung up but it was still
ringing so I answered it again, once again no-one was there so I hung
up and it was still ringing. I looked around for another phone, when
suddenly the sound changed to a siren. It was the fire alarm. Had
there been a real emergency by the time I recognised the sound, it
would probably have been too late.

Obviously if you live with a hearing person then they become your
ears in an emergency. My oldest son, who was 16 at the time, saved us
when the house burnt down. He heard and saw the fire, called the fire
brigade, then woke me to get everyone out of the house. I would have
slept through it and together with my other son and daughter would
probably have been trapped at the end of the house without an exit.

When my youngest son had a work accident my employer took the call
and interpreted for me until I had enough information so I could get
to the hospital.

Another time my car broke down out on a country freeway. It was
before mobile phones and I tried to use the emergency phone by the
side of the road. But the phone either didn't work or I didn't hear
the instructions. I waited some hours before someone pulled up and
helped me out.

Many years ago I was on an aeroplane which made an emergency landing.
By the time I knew there was an emergency we were back on the ground.
I had not heard anything and to this day I do not know if we were
asked to move into the brace position. Had we crashed I would not
have been prepared.

When my brother suddenly died recently, I was next of kin. The police
came to the house in the middle of the night. Of course I didn't hear
them knocking and I didn't hear their phone calls trying to wake me.
My husband was my ears this time.

If you don't live with someone who can hear there are things you can
do to improve your chances of dealing with an emergency:
(1) Let your neighbours, neighbourhood watch organisation, as well as
police and fire service, know your are deaf
(2) Buy an emergency alert device which can connect you to a medical
centre, friend or family member at the touch of a button
(3) If staying away from home, let the hotel know you are deaf
(4) Let friends and family know where you are likely to be and when
you will be coming home
(5) Carry a mobile phone so you can call or SMS for help
(6) Find out the SMS details for your motoring association
(7) Wear a medic alert bracelet which says you are deaf
(8) Source a watch/device which vibrates as an alarm and can tell you
which alarm is going off
(9) Install a fire alarm with a bright blinking light
(10) Install a light which is activated when the phone rings
(11) Tell anyone you travel with that you are hearing impaired and
would need extra help to know of an emergency
(12) Keep extra batteries and a back up hearing aid or processor on
hand

Emergencies are difficult for anyone. They can be much harder if you
can't hear and can't communicate easily in a stressful situation. By
planning ahead you can deal with some of the angst beforehand.

Just a note from Wendy - Maybe you could let an adoring a dog or cat
become part of your life, there are many wanting loving homes. All
of us have heard/read who an animal will alert their owners to fires
and many lives have been saved this way. Let them sleep close by
when you are sleeping and hopefully they will save your life. It's
just a thought.