Today I went and got an old fashioned bed side clock. I wanted a wall clock but the second hand on the clock I'd bought was stuck. So I took it back and paid the difference for the bedside clock. I tested it to see how loud the alarm is. It's LOUD!! OH MY GOODNESS!! It's so loud I could hear it from downstairs! If I ever did use it as an alarm I'd wake up with a horrible scared feeling. Needless to say I'll never use the alarm. But I do love the constant ticking it makes as I drift off to sleep or I sit in my room reading.