I need ear plugs and a white noise machine to sleep with the noise my neighbors make. I had to buy a louder alarm clock because I was not hearing my old one, though I could hear it fine with just the white noise. I think I would probably hear the smoke detector in my condo, but I won't hear the one out in the main hallway. Though I don't think I would hear that anyway, because it's pretty far from my bedroom.

Emily, I agree your mother probably does not have the best environment for sound sleeping, but part of her problem might just be due to getting older, since people tend to sleep for shorter periods as they age.