Alarm tests are disclosed which use alarm test signals to assess alarms provided by medical devices. Especially relevant are implanted devices that monitor cardiac activity and provide notification in response to medically relevant events. Alarm tests can occur periodically, or in response to a patient, doctor, or remote party initiating the alarm test. Alarm tests can also occur during the actual alarms issued to detected medical events. Alarm tests lead to pass or fail results, which in turn may cause operations to contingently occur. Alarm test failure in the auditory, visual, or tactile modality, may cause an alternatively defined alarm signal to be used as back-up. Alarm test logs can store alarm test results, including quantification of the measured alarm signal. Rapid alarm tests are described, as are various methods of accurately measuring characteristics of the test signal in ambulatory patients, which are especially relevant to a vibration alarm.