by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A chaplain to seniors asked:
Do you know where I can get a doorbell type device that can activate a vibrator worn by a fairly deaf senior?
There are a good number of alerting systems available that flash lights and shake beds. Here are two that I can recommend.
1. Serene Innovations: This system has a vibrating pager you typically wear on your belt. When the doorbell (or any of the other alerting devices that are available) goes off, it vibrates, sounds an alert and a lighted icon comes on to let you know which device is trying to alert you.
2. Silent Call: This system is similar to the above, except, as its name implies, it does not have an audible alert. For example, when the doorbell goes off, it vibrates and shows a “door” icon at the same time.
Both of these systems are flexible. Besides alerting you to the doorbell, they can alert you to the phone, your alarm clock, to smoke detectors, CO detectors, sound monitors, fire alarms, weather radios, etc.
When you are in bed you can put them in their charger/docking stations and with bed vibrators plugged into the docking units, they will alert you while you are asleep too.
You can start with a basic system and add to it whenever you want. For example, you can start with just one transmitter (e.g. doorbell) and one receiver (e.g. pager) and if you want to, add more transmitter modules as you find the need for them. I use the doorbell, telephone, smoke detector, fire alarm, CO detector, and sound monitor modules at present, although I also have the weather radio module as well.
You can learn about (and purchase) the Serene Innovations system here.
You can get the Silent Call system here.
Besides the body-worn receivers, both systems also have bed table (and other) receivers that flash lights and have bed vibrators. I use them too. I love how flexible these systems are. I have tailored them to fit my exact needs. I’m sure you will find they will do the same for you.
My elderly mother lives with my sister who is hard of hearing. They need a device that each can wear (perhaps around their necks on a cord) that my mom can press or speak into and my sister who may be on the second floor can feel vibrate and will know my mom is calling for her.
Recently my mother fell and broke her wrist and could not get up in the downstairs living room. My sister who was on the second floor at the time did not hear the fall or could not hear my mother calling for help. My mother laid on the floor 45 minutes with a broken wrist before my sister came downstairs and found her and called 911.
I hope you know of such a device and can share that information with us.
Many thanks.
Karen