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A home-made pendant timer-alert

There are all sorts of situations where one wants to keep track of time and be alerted when the time is up. The obvious example is in cookery, but there are numerous others, all of which call for a timer-alert of some sort. However, for deaf people, it is no easy matter to find one that is suitable: The alerts on watches tend to be too quiet; regular kitchen timers are awkward to carry around and can't be heard at a distance and the vibration alerts on phones are fiddly to set up.

Fortunately there is a fashion at the moment for making digital kitchen timer fridge magnets in different coloured shiny plastic cases, shaped like medallions. Fortunately, too, these continue to ring until their stop button is pressed, rather than just giving a single ping. My solution is to buy one in a colour I like, drill two holes in it and thread a cord through. Then I wear it as a pendant. Being close to the body, it can readily be heard.

The timer pendant doubles as a useful strategy when cooking for guests. So often one has to leave the group because the meal needs attention, and yet it feels rude to do so while they are talking animatedly about something close to their hearts. The surreptitious ring from the pendant indicates that there is a good reason for making one's exit and so gets round the need to interrupt with explanations or excuses. This strategy is so useful that a number of my hearing friends now also use it, and even their menfolk can be seen wearing the medallion around the house to help them keep track of time.

This website does not consider commercially produced aids made specifically for the deaf, and you may wish to check them out.

A pendant timer alert which you can easily keep with you, made from a kitchen timer fridge magnet, drilled with holes and threaded with cord.

Hearing problems

Sound level issues
Pitch issues
Distortion issues
Background noise
Pain and sensitivity