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.

I know there are a couple of people on the forum who are thinking about

a Baha. I wondered how you are going?



Regards Felicity

Hi,



Well i am now on the waiting list. But as i'm going in as a public

patient i have to be done by a trainee registrar as the ENT i had

seen doesn't do public patients. I'm a bit nervous about that i must

admit. I know they all have to learn on someone, but does it really

have to be me..



Still waiting for the info to be sent out.....



Kay





--- In baha_anz@..., "Felicity" <felicity@...> wrote:

>

> I know there are a couple of people on the forum who are thinking

about

> a Baha. I wondered how you are going?

>

> Regards Felicity

>

The information from my clinic. I've had all the info from Cochlear

and i've had a trial BAHA... Now i just play the waiting game..



How long did you have to wait?



Cheers, Kay



--- In baha_anz@..., "Felicity Bleckly" <felicity@...>

wrote:

>

> I wouldn't worry about a registrar doing your operation. I had the

registrar

> at Flinders do mine. They are well supervised by the main surgeon.

When you

> say you haven't got the information yet? Were you expecting it from

Cochlear

> or your clinic?

>

>

>

> Regards

>

> Felicity Bleckly

>

> felicity@...

>

> 0427 427 330

>

> 8388 2112

>

> From: baha_anz@...

[mailto:baha_anz@...] On

> Behalf Of kckaycot

> Sent: Sunday, 30 March 2008 3:09 PM

> To: baha_anz@...

> Subject: [baha_anz] Re: How are you going?

>

>

>

> Hi,

>

> Well i am now on the waiting list. But as i'm going in as a public

> patient i have to be done by a trainee registrar as the ENT i had

> seen doesn't do public patients. I'm a bit nervous about that i

must

> admit. I know they all have to learn on someone, but does it really

> have to be me..

>

> Still waiting for the info to be sent out.....

>

> Kay

>

> --- In baha_anz@... <mailto:baha_anz%

40yahoogroups.com.au> ,

> "Felicity" <felicity@> wrote:

> >

> > I know there are a couple of people on the forum who are thinking

> about

> > a Baha. I wondered how you are going?

> >

> > Regards Felicity

> >

>