Deaf gran saved by six-year-old grandson after house filled with smoke in middle of the night

A deaf grandmother from Ayr was saved by her six-year-old grandson after her house filled with smoke in the middle of the night.

Joann Senior was shaken awake in the early hours of the morning by her grandchild, having not been alerted by the smoke alarm.

The 59-year-old managed to navigate her way through the thick smoke to get her grandchildren to safety, only to realise how close they had come to disaster.

Following the traumatic incident, Joann felt like a “liability” and isolated herself from her family, fearing she would never be able to sleep soundly again without the risk of missing critical alarms.

“After the incident, I was traumatised. My grandkids had been in my care, and my hearing loss put all our lives in danger. I went into proper grief,” she said.

Joann was diagnosed with Otosclerosis, a condition affecting hearing in which a tiny bone inside the ear joins with other parts of the ear, when she was 24 years old but had always “got on with life and tried not to let it affect” her.

However, she said that she was too scared to sleep and felt “permanently” anxious after the incident.

She said: “I stayed in bed for four or five days at a time. I was too scared to sleep and felt permanently anxious. I then knew for a fact that if the smoke alarm went off, I wouldn’t hear it.”

However, Joann has started to build her confidence again after being paired with a hearing dog through the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

She was matched with Dudley, a two-year-old black Labrador, who had been trained to alert her to smoke and fire alarms.

Since being matched, Joann has said it has allowed her to be a Nana to her grandchildren again.

A strong nudge from Dudley’s nose now wakes Joann when the smoke alarm sounds – giving her a newfound sense of security.

“This summer, for the first time since the incident, I had my grandchildren stay with me on their own, and I felt completely safe knowing Dudley was there to protect them.”

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People said it is struggling to keep up with demand. For every available space on its waiting list, there are five enquiries.

The charity is looking to double its amount of volunteer puppy trainers to help meet the “huge” demand for hearing dogs.

“Our Edinburgh training hub is currently running at 50% capacity,” a spokesperson for the charity said.

“We urgently need to double our volunteer numbers in Edinburgh and Midlothian, or risk having to reduce the number of dogs we can train, leaving many people like Joann without the support they desperately need.”

The charity added: “Anyone who would like to find out more about becoming a volunteer puppy trainer or helping the charity in other ways can visit the charity’s website or call 01844 348129.”