The Troubles of Wearing Hearing Aids for Hearing Loss Person by Face Mask
Face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) help protect us from the coronavirus, wearing a face mask in public spaces has become more and more common. Some areas of the country are now requiring face masks to be worn in all indoor retail settings. But they add communication challenges for everyone, especially people with hearing impairments. That's because:
Face masks reduce volume and clarity of speech
Depending on the type of face mask, they may reduce the clarity of speech and lower it from anywhere to 5 to 15 decibels (dB). In other words, speech is not just quieter, it's more muffled.
Which type of mask muffles speech the least?
The trick is selecting a mask that doesn't dampen your voice too much, protects you from the coronavirus AND if you have hearing loss, works well with your hearing aids or implants. That's a lot for one mask to provide. Research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shows that, sound-wise, single-use surgical masks (the blue ones) and KN95 respirators both dampened sound only a little (about 5 dB) and can filter out small particles. Cloth masks provide less protection from viral particles but perform best "acoustically," the reseachers noted.
Interestingly, face masks with clear plastic windows—the very kind often recommended for communicating with people who are lip readers—reduced the volumed of the speaker's voice the most. "Talkers who use clear masks—or any masks—should consider using a sound reinforcement or assistive listening system to improve audibility and reduce vocal fatigue," the researchers stated. "Communicating during a pandemic is already stressful enough; we should not have to worry about being heard."
Social distancing and protective barriers make it harder to hear
Communication is also made more challenging by the standard social distancing recommendation to stay fix feet apart. We're also more likely to encounter barriers in public settings that protect workers from respiratory droplets and aerosols, such as large plastic dividers when you check-in at a doctor's office. These may protect us from infection, but they further reduce the volume and clarity of the speaker in front of you.
"These necessary precautions can be exhausting—especially for individuals with hearing loss who may depend on lip-reading to communicate," said Dr. Debra L. Tucci, Director of the federal Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), in a blog post about the challenges posed by face masks.
Face mask ear loops may tug on your hearing aids and cause other problems.
You can't rely on lip reading clues and other facial movements that help you understand speech and emotion.
This poses a challenge for those who wear hearing aids. Both in the fact that masks muffle the sound when someone speaks, you can’t see any lip reading cues, and also if the person who wears the mask has type of the BTE hearing aids, they can fall out when the mask is removed.
Below are some recommendations we’ve put together to help lower your chance of losing your hearing aids.
1. Use a mask that goes around the head instead of over the ears, this is the simplest solution. Some masks tie at the back.
2. If you have long hair and can put it in a bun, you can then wrap the mask’s elastic around the bun.
3. Sew two buttons onto a piece of material and attach the elastic to the buttons. Use this as a button extension for the mask, and the elastics no will no longer need to wrap around your ears.
4. Don’t pull the mask off your ears, stretch the straps up and back instead.
5. Always check for you hearing aids after removing your mask.
6. Remove your mask in your car or at home in a safe area, so if the hearing aid falls to the ground, it will be easier to find.
7. If the face mask wearing is necessary, we suggest you to change the type of hearing aid and the in ear type of hearing aids will be a better choice.For example,the earsmate ITE Hearing Aid,CIC hearing aid,like the model of G17 a mini CIC rechargeable hearing aid with some features as below:
1.Factory R&D,unique design tiny size
2.Rechargeable Ready-to-use hearing device
3.Crystal Clear and loud sound amplifier
4.For adults People Young and elderly mild to moderate hearing loss
5.Low rechargeable battery drain and super long last 30-40 hours
6.High quality Rechargeable Lithium Battery with 500 times re-charge life
7.With power on/off switch to save energy and extend hearing aid life
8.Tiny size only 1/2 inch hearing aid body
