Apps, Rules & Devices for Hard of Hearing People?

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1

My father (75 yrs old) is losing is hearing -- already wearing hearing aids -- and moving into a new place.

I want to set him up with some useful devices and automation rules to make his life a little easier. Hoping the community might have some suggestions on what would be handy.

I know I want to get a z-wave doorbell / button (he's moving into a condo apartment building) to flash a light / LED strip when someone pushes the doorbell. I was also thinking about one of the z-wave smoke alarms that would also flash lights / LEDs if it were going off.

What other handy rules, automations and devices should I be looking into?

Thanks!

2

if he has a smart phone, could set up notification alerts on his phone for all those things as well

3

Is there an existing doorbell? If so, there are Sage Doorbell sensors that allow you to hook up two wires and you are done. They are quite often very cheap on Ebay, somewhere about $10 shipped.

4

Here’s some good fire safety tips from the NFPA for deaf and hearing-impaired people:

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Specific-groups-at-risk/People-with-disabilities/Educational-materials/People-who-are-deaf-or-hard-of-hearing

I would consider using purpose-built devices that include strobes, sirens that put out a lower pitch (age-related hearing loss is usually worst at higher frequencies), and bed-shakers for when the person is asleep.

Then any additional integrations with Hubitat are additive, rather than a potential failure point if Hubitat and its paired devices are the only means of providing the alerts he’s more likely to see/hear/feel.

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5

@marktheknife Appreciate the suggestions.

The "fight" we're having is that my dad doesn't want to admit that he's struggling or getting old. He should use a walker, but will only use a cane. This move is happening because we finally convinced him that living in a 3 story town house was becoming dangerous. It was an almost year-long fight.

So I'm trying to find some ways to incorporate something cool that doesn't make him feel like he's old. More like sneaking in some helpful tech and rules than the "I've fallen and can't get up" stuff.

6

sigh, i hear you. My dad fought for a while before agreeing to get hearing aids. He can easily afford the tiny and barely visible ones, so I think it was more about having to admit he's "old" than anything else. At least now he can go back to ignoring my mom on purpose whenever he chooses, instead of all the time :wink:.

7

exactly.