Student Safety as a Priority
How can we ensure hard of hearing students attending universities and colleges around the country are safe? Strobe light fire alarms are currently in place in many dormitories; however recent studies prove that these alarms can be ineffective at capturing the attention of this population. Specifically, the study finds that strobe light alarms are not effective in waking someone that is hard of hearing. Furthermore, students under the influence of alcohol die every year due to sleeping through their fire alarms.
We like the fact that it can hear all the alarms in the house, even in the basement. It is better and less expensive than having a strobe alarm in every room. The clock is also a wake up alarm clock.
The Facts*
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More than 70% of hard of hearing adults would sleep through a strobe light that was compliant with current standards.
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There is tentative evidence that combining a low frequency square wave with a tactile device may provide additional waking effectiveness.
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No participants slept through a 520 Hz square wave signal at 95 dBA, while 16% slept through a 3100 Hz pure tone at 95 dBA (Used by HL150.
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The most effective way to wake someone is with two square wave signals specifically 400 Hz and 520 Hz (Used by HL150).
* Bruck, D., & Thomas, I. (2007). Waking Effectiveness Of Alarms. The Fire Protection Research Foundation, 4(2), 15-27