How can I extend the calendar alarm sound on my iPhone?

Question

Before I got my iPhone I used my mobile phones (dumb, android, Symbian) to set an alarm with the calendar. I'm having a hard time properly doing so on my iPhone. My brain is lined with teflon and I forget a lot of stuff - up until now my mobile phones have been vital in remedying this.
Say that I have an important appointment at 14:00 two weeks from now, I punch it in the calendar on my iPhone and let it alert me an hour before the event. When the time comes my iPhone lets out a measly "beep" that no one hears and I miss the appointment - I can go entire work days without looking at my phone (and phone usage is strongly discouraged at my workplace) so this is really a big problem for me. So far I've missed a couple of important meetings, left important stuff undone and forgot to pick my kid up from kindergarten (my wife usually does, but there are those rare, calendar reminder occasions when I have to)!
On all the other phones I've owned I'd be able to set the calendar alarm so that it would go on and on and on until I reacted, thus minimizing the odds of me missing the alarm. I have no idea how to make my iPhone do this.
Sure there are workarounds like making the calendar alarm go off a day before to remind me to create an actual alarm clock alarm for the day after but that really seems to be an uneccesary hazzle and a major design flaw - also, what if I'm really busy when the early reminder goes off and I forget to set the alarm? Or perhaps I should attempt to tame myself to constantly check my iPhone for possible alerts? I really love my iPhone, but if it becomes a handicap i'll throw it away in a heartbeat.

Answer 1

I was not aware of the fact one could use ringtones as alarms, this will suffice! Although I foresee some very awkward times as the sound does not stop once I respond to the reminder (it keeps going for good five - ten seconds after I "stop" the reminder), but it's better than missing it altogether!
Thank you very much!
Regarding the Alarmed app, doesn't it have to be running to actually remind you?
-Modular747: I don't know anyone who actually reads the terms of service agreement, those things are usually up to thirty, small print pages full of legal jargon. Rules, I do read - not the legal documents (also they often contradict the laws in my country, but that's a whole different story).
I agree with you - the average customer support consultant mostly cares about keeping his job and earning his salary (don't we all?) and thus racking up completted tasks (i.e. getting rid of customers as fast as possible - in a good mood). The "threat" none the less is real, if a cell phone causes me more trouble than it is worth, I will indeed throw it away (I have done so before) - and recommend a different brand to anyone willing to listen.
Don't get me wrong, I love Apple and I've been faithfully using and recommending their producs for twenty years now, not because of fanboyism, but because they earned it. This calendar issue, however, is like a toaster that doesn't automatically eject the toast at the set time. I see it as a major flaw and after googling around a bit I see that it's been around since at least 2007 (THAT'S SEVEN YEARS!!) so I strongly believe they are aware of this problem by now, but are choosing to ignore it for some mysterious reason and it really ****** me off.
I will send the feedback but based on my observations I suspect the Send button is merely a cleverly disguised Delete button.