The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
A deaf influencer who starred in Netflix’s Def U has shared how uses ‘game-changing’ technologies to know when her baby is crying.
Cheyenne Clearbrook, 24, shared a TikTok video showing how she and her partner Issac, 28, also deaf, use a receiver, baby sensor, bed shaker and monitor to know when their three-month-old daughter is in distress.
More than 56 million people are deaf or hard of hearing in the US, which can impact their decision to start a family.
But new technologies have helped Clearbrook and her partner make their dreams of being parents come true.
These devices are designed specifically for deaf people and vibrate and flash when specific sounds are detected – including the doorbell ring and security alarm.
‘We can’t just imagine how our lives would be without those devices designed for deaf people.’
Cheyenne Clearbrook, 24, shared a TikTok video showing how she and her partner Issac, 28, also deaf, use a receiver, baby sensor, bed shaker and monitor to know when their three-month-old daughter is in distress
Clearbrook has been a social media influencer since she was 16, starting on YouTube and starring in the Netflix series Deaf U.
The 2020 series follows a group of students attending Gallaudet University, a private Washington DC college for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
Clearbrook now creates fun content for her audience on TikTok, informing them about the life of a deaf person.
‘We are learning as deaf parents with our daughter, who is possibly hard of hearing. We don’t know if she hears or not yet since she has to retake a hearing test to confirm,’ she said.
Clearbrook and her partner use the three devices developed by Serene Innovations, which develops technology specifically for deaf people.
The remote receiver is a portable device with screen icons that flash depending on the sound it collects.
There is one for a doorbell, baby crying, telephone, home security alarm and several others.
The receiver connects to the baby sensor that sits no more than five feet from the baby and sends the signal to the receiver when it detects crying.
She and her partner use (left) a baby sensor, receiver and bed shaker. They also use a Vtech monitor (right) that also alters them when their baby is crying
Clearbrook and her partner use the three devices developed by Serene Innovations, which develops technology specifically for deaf people
It monitors the baby’s sound in real-time, stopping when the baby stops making noise. And the battery lasts for 10 months.
And the bed shaker is critical to know when a baby is restless at night.
It wakes the user with a strong vibration when any of its connected sensors are alerted by the baby sensor.
The bed shaker can be placed under a pillow or between the mattress.
‘Once a baby sensor recognizes the baby crying, it sends a signal to the receiver where it will flash bright lights with sounds and vibrate which is under the bedsheet so it will wake us up to it,’ said Clearbrook.
The remote receiver (left) is a portable device with screen icons that flash depending on the sound it collects. The bed shaker is critical to know when a baby is restless at night. It wakes the user with a strong vibration when any of its connected sensors are alerted
The receiver connects to the baby sensor that sits no more than five feet from the baby and sends the signal to the receiver when it detects crying
‘Also, this baby sensor has intense crying levels and will send a signal once the bars are set high.
‘It is very accurate and only focuses on the single sound, which is the baby’s crying so it won’t be inferred with other sounds, which is amazing.
‘For example, if my dog barks, the baby sensor wouldn’t recognize it.’
Clearbrook also uses a Vtech baby monitor, which she says gives them peace of mind.
‘We can just check on the parent unit or our phones. It gives us peace of mind and is more relaxing than worrying about not knowing if she cries where we have to see her frequently since we can’t hear.’
‘My parents were the ones to suggest we buy them because they did have different kinds of baby alarms during their time,’ she said.
‘We were thankful that we knew about those devices before she was born. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t sleep well!’
