His alarm woke the whole floor. Except him.
A story from my college dorm, and the wristband one of us should have bought him.
I went to college at RIT, the Rochester Institute of Technology. RIT is home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, so Deaf and hard-of-hearing students live mixed in with hearing students like me.
My dorm room was right next to his. He was Deaf. He was also a deep sleeper. Those two have nothing to do with each other. As one Deaf poster on Reddit put it:
“Deafness has nothing to do with being a heavy sleeper. I’m a light sleeper, and I’m Deaf.”
His alarm woke the whole floor. It didn't wake him.
I could never sleep
His alarm went off every morning. It went off at night, too: he set alarms to make his night classes. And with my schedule, it always rang at the worst times. I'd lie there awake, listening through the wall to an alarm that wasn't mine, for the one person it couldn't reach. I could never sleep.
Finals day was the worst. I had a huge computer engineering project to finish, and I did it on no sleep.
Who turned it off
Somebody had to. Neighbors went into his room to shut it off and try to wake him. It got so bad that if his door was unlocked, another student walked in and turned it off. If it was locked, the RA had to come open the room.
I went in myself. I felt bad about it: that was his room and his privacy, and I was breaking it. But it had to be done.
He wasn't the problem. His alarm was. He set it like everyone else on that floor, and it did exactly what alarms are built to do: it filled his room, the hall and every room around it. It just couldn't reach the one person it was for. A louder one would only have woken more of the floor.
The worst part wasn't the noise
The worst part was that his mornings belonged to whoever was nearest his door. Other people had become his alarm: a neighbor deciding when to knock, an RA with a key to his room. That isn't fair to the floor, and it isn't fair to him.
When I think about that floor now, one thought keeps coming back:
“if one of us could have just bought this wristband and slapped it on him, problem solved.”
The alarm I wish he'd had
So I built Touchwake. One alarm, one person. It takes the alarm out of the room and puts it on the wrist of the person it's for. At alarm time it buzzes instead of ringing. The person wearing it feels it. The people on the other side of the wall don't.
Here's how our band works:
The Touchwake band
- Wear it with the display on the inside of the wrist. That's where most people feel it best.
- At alarm time it buzzes, with up to 3 alarms. No ringing, just a strong buzz on one wrist. The rest of the floor sleeps on.
- One button sets it. No app, no phone, no Bluetooth. Every order email comes with written setup steps, and support is by email.
- It charges straight from a USB-A port.
60 nights. Full refund. Keep it.
Why I built this
Nobody should need a key to your room to wake you up. Not the RA. Not the neighbor who feels bad walking in. Your alarm should be yours, your room should stay yours, and your morning should start when you say so.
One alarm, one person. That's the whole idea behind Touchwake, and I'll stand behind it:
If it doesn't wake him, email us within 60 nights of delivery. Full refund. He keeps it.
His alarm, his business
One edit to my own line: not slapped on. Offered. A Touchwake band hands his mornings back to him. Give it like that: as a gift, not a hint.
It isn't only dorms
Same story anywhere one person's alarm reaches people it wasn't meant for: a partner on a different shift, a housemate through a thin wall, a teen heading off to their first dorm. Someone on a tech forum solved it the old-fashioned way back in 2006:
“I bought my roommate a new alarm clock for Christmas because his old one was like a fire alarm going off in our room each morning.”
Touchwake is the upgrade: the alarm stays on one wrist.
What buyers say
“This watch performs its function excellently. I bought it to wake my son with vibration and it is working very well. I recommend it.”
“Great watch with 3 alarms, strong yet quiet vibration.”
“It works very well as a vibrating alarm. The vibration is strong enough to wake up a deep sleeper. This is the one purpose that I purchased it for. So I am fully satisfied.”
Get him his own alarm
If it doesn't wake him, email us within 60 nights of delivery. Full refund. He keeps it.
Free US shipping. Arrives in 7-17 days.
Stops working within 12 months? We send a new one. Bought two for two people? If one band doesn't wake its wearer, we refund that band ($42.50). Bought it for someone else? Same 60 nights, counted from the day it arrives. Either of you can email us.
Get him his own alarm →Quick questions
Will it wake him? He slept through a ringer.
That's the job: a strong buzz on the skin is a different signal than a ringtone. If it doesn't wake him, email us within 60 nights of delivery. Full refund. He keeps it.
Will he wear it to bed?
It's a slim band on a soft silicone strap. And if he can't sleep in it, it can't wake him, so that counts for the refund too.
Can I send it as a gift?
Yes. Next door? Ship it to yourself and hand it over. Your order email has the setup steps: forward it to him.
How long does shipping take?
Free US shipping. Arrives in 7-17 days. Running late? We email you, and you can cancel for a full refund.
Advertisement. A true story from Touchwake's founder. Touchwake is a wake-up alarm, not a medical or safety device. Forum quotes are about alarms in general. Touchwake is not affiliated with RIT or NTID.