Living independently can present unique challenges for someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. Because someone with a hearing impairment may be unable to recognise certain sounds and important alerts from their environment, taking extra steps to ensure their health, safety and overall wellbeing is important. If you are caring for someone with a hearing impairment, there are lots of practical ways to minimise risks and make sure they feel as confident and comfortable at home as possible.
Home security, alarms and alerts
When someone with a hearing impairment is living independently, there are a number of tools and adapted systems they can use to help them feel secure in their home. For example, a smart doorbell system that includes a video camera, two-way audio, and motion sensors allows a person with hearing loss to see who is ringing, speak with them and even lip read, without having to unlock or open the door.
As someone who has a hearing impairment may not be able to hear traditional smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, visual alarms using bright flashing lights and vibrating alert systems can alert them to emergencies like these and to other hazards like frozen pipes and water leaks. Motion-sensor lights can also be useful and support someone to get out of the house in an emergency more quickly.
There are also a number of communication technologies which can provide essential notifications that may otherwise be missed, from vibrating alarm clocks that wake someone up, to video and flashing doorbells that can alert someone who has a hearing impairment to visitors. Your local authority may also provide community alarm services to support the person you care for to live safely and independently in their own home. You can apply for a community alarm here.
Ensuring the home is safe
When living with a sensory impairment, the layout of the home can have a big impact how comfortable and confident someone feels in their home. When reviewing the layout of the home, they are some small changes which can be made to help. For example, placing chairs in the corner of the room or facing each other to encourage guests to stand in front of the individual so that they can lip read more easily. This also helps those who are hearing impaired to reduce the amount of background noise.
There are also a number of changes to the home which can be helpful, such as automatic taps. As many individuals with a hearing impairment struggle to hear the sound of running water, it is more likely that they may leave taps running, increasing the risk of flooding, and raising their water bill. Automatic taps help to manage this risk.
If the person you care for has a hearing impairment, they may rely heavily on being able to lip read and/or use sign language in order to communicate effectively. It can therefore be important to ensure good lighting to ensure they are able to see most effectively and feel confident in all situations.
Plan for emergencies
When supporting someone to live independently at home, it is also important to consider having a plan in place for if, and when, emergencies arise. For someone with a hearing impairment, this might also include creating a communication plan. Having this in place can bring peace of mind to everyone involved.
As part of emergency planning, it can be helpful to put together a list of emergency contact numbers for the individual with the hearing impairment to use. Whether at home, or in bag on them, having these contacts clearly marked with braille stickers or programmed into an accessible mobile phone can ensure that they can access support when they need to.
It can also be helpful to consider registering with local emergency services, providing them with information about the individual, their home situation and their hearing impairment so they know how best to support them in case of emergency like using lights rather than calling out, for example.
It is also possible to book a free Safe and Well check with your local Fire Service. A team will come to visit and offer he person you care for advice to help make their home a safer place. They can also provide specialist equipment and draw up the best fire escape plan for use in case of an emergency, like having a tactile indicator on the wall or floor that leads to the safest exit.
Creating an easily-accessible document which outlines the details of their sensory impairment and other important information like favoured communication strategies can be very helpful in an emergency. Some people with a hearing impairment also find that carrying a medical ID bracelet or an ID card that lets others know essential information can be very useful, communicating information about their condition and specific needs simply and discreetly.
If thinking about planning for emergencies, it can also be helpful to think about having some of the essentials easily available, like having a go bag. In any case, having extra batteries and charged battery packs on hand, especially if the person you care for relies heavily on technology to support them, can be a simple but very useful strategy to manage when a situation arises.
A power cut or their device breaking down might mean the person you care for is suddenly unable to use the assistive aids they rely on. Having extra batteries and charged battery packs in store, especially if they depend heavily on technology to communicate, can also be a simple but useful strategy, ensuring they won’t be without their important devices for long.
Build a support network
For anyone living independently at home, having a positive network of friends, neighbours and professionals can help to ensure there is always someone on hand to support if needed. This can go a long way to help you and the person you care for feel more relaxed and confident. You could also support the person you care for to find peer support groups, social clubs, and community activities they enjoy to maintain their independence and feel connected, purposeful and inspired.
Communication tools
There are a wide range of tools which someone with a hearing impairment can use to communicate with those around them. For example, the person you care for use assistive listening devices (ALDs) like hearing aids, cochlear implants, or personal amplifiers to enhance their ability to communicate.
An easily-installed home induction loop system can also help people who are hearing impaired and choose to wear a hearing aid to hear their TV, hi-fi or radio better. This can be fitted into their car. Bluetooth technology can also be used in a similar way but also allow multiple devices can be connected at any time, enabling someone who has a hearing impairment to switch easily between their phone, tv and tablet.
There are a wide range of numerous apps which can be used to capture and transcribe speech, and provide simple, easy ways to communicate using text.
You can find more information on communication strategies to support those who are deaf or hard of hearing, can be found here.
The role of service animals
In some circumstances, a service animal can provide invaluable support for someone with a sensory impairment who wants to live independently at home. Our article here goes into this in greater depth if this is something you might like to explore.
These are just some of the simple, practical strategies which can be put into place to support the person you care for to live confidently and securely at home and give you peace of mind as their carer, especially if you provide care from a distance.