Every individual who is employed or who is the head of the household may benefit from an alarm clock. We don't ask someone if they can hear the alarm clock. Instead we ask how they wake up in the morning. That open-ended question will tell us how well they cope.

Some parents rely on their children to wake them, family to call them or are often late for work. We've selected the following clocks with the features that are most often requested. Check the catalog for the full array of clocks.

Selecting Alarm Clock Features

Alarm clocks are equipped with many different features. When you purchase an alarm clock, keep the following tips in mind:

Strobe lights: Some people are sensitive to brightly flashing lights. Personal reactions can range from feeling mildly uncomfortable to triggering a seizure. Also, some people do not wake up to strobe lights. It's important to try out strobe lights on an occasion when it's OK not to wake up.

Dimmer switches: A bright LED display on an alarm clock can keep some people from getting to sleep at night. Having a high/low dimmer switch is a nice feature.

Green and Red LED displays: People with low vision find it easier to read a red colored LED display versus a green colored one. The red color provides greater contrast, and this makes the numbers easier to see.

Loud audible alarms: Other family members may not appreciate waking up to a loud alarm. For this reason, some people with hearing loss prefer flashing lights or vibration.

 Adjustable volume and tone: Many people with high frequency hearing loss can hear a lower frequency tone at a normal sound level. Being able to adjust the tone is a great feature.

Signaling Capabilities: Clocks that have built-in receivers that automatically receive signals from the telephone, doorbell, and baby monitor should also be connected to a lamp. The flashing lamp can alert someone who is already out of bed and, therefore, cannot feel the bed shaker vibrations.

While having signaling capabilities in an alarm clock is a great feature, it can sometimes be confusing to know if it is the alarm clock, doorbell, phone or baby monitor that needs your attention. To prevent this, we recommend that clients use a steady sound for the alarm clock and a different, pulsing sound pattern for the various signalers.

Telephone signalers: Clocks that have telephone signaling capabilities come with a 7' modular phone plug. If this plug is not long enough to reach a phone jack, longer lines are available at Radio Shack.

Built-in flashing lights: Several clocks have built-in flashing lights. These lights are visual signals only and are not intended to wake someone up.