A Valentine's Day Gift: Home Safety Tips for People with Hearing Loss
- Ruth Bernstein, Hearing Access Ambassador
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
Sound Advice by Ruth D. Bernstein
Motivated by concerns about a close friend’s safety in her new home, Hearing Access Ambassador Ruth Bernstein reflects on what truly makes a home hearing accessible.
Several months ago, my friend Judy fell and broke her shoulder. She was in a rehab facility for almost two months, recovering from the accident. As she healed, it became clear she would not be able to continue living alone in her suburban New Jersey home of over 50 years because she would not be able to drive for an extended period of time and would have trouble walking up the stairs leading into her home and in her apartment.
Luckily, about five years ago, Judy and her sister made reservations at a senior facility in Alexandria, Virginia, close to her sister’s home. Judy was able to activate her reservation and will be moving into her new home in the middle of February. She is staying with her sister while she waits for the apartment to be ready.
A Hearing-Accessible Home
I was concerned because it was not clear to me that her new home
will be hearing accessible. Googling led me to an informative article—Home Design for Hearing Loss: Creating A User-Friendly Living Space—with excellent insights by Dr. Catherine Fabian, Professor of Audiology at Northwestern University.
It was an eye-opener for me because I never thought about making a home hearing accessible as a design project. Accessibility has always been an advocacy
project for me. In addition to talking about layout, acoustics, color schemes and lighting, the article focuses on home safety tips, which is my Valentine's Day present to you.
Home Safety Tips for Hearing Loss
💡Improve lighting: Install night lights in bathrooms, kitchens, and hallways.
🧶 Soften acoustics: Minimize reflective surfaces to absorb sound bounce.
🚨 Visual alerts: Install doorbells, fire alarms, and phones with flashing lights.
⏰ Vibrating alarm clocks: Place vibrating mechanism under pillow.
📞 Captioned phones: Make phone calls easier and less stressful.
🔥 Strobe-enabled smoke and CO detectors: Essential for nighttime safety.
📱 Smart visual security alerts: Link cameras to smartphones or tablets.
🎥 Bonus Tip: Watch this helpful video, "Home Safety and Hearing Loss," from CHC experts Terrence Williams and Carolyn Stern
I feel better knowing Judy will not have to worry about stairs because her new home has an elevator. She will not need to drive to shop because meals will be provided. Her new apartment has many of the safety devices she needs. Although it's possible she will have to do some advocacy for hearing access, she will be assigned a mentor when she moves in who will help her adjust to her new environment and can help with that.
Working with Judy has given me many ideas for my own home. I hope you will use some of these safety tips and incorporate them into your lives.
Have a happy Valentine's Day and be safe.
Ruth D. Bernstein Hearing Access Ambassador
Contact Ruth using our Ask the Experts form to share your hearing access tips and advocacy experiences.