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Communication with face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic for adults with hearing loss Poon, Brenda T.; Jenstad, Lorienne M., 1971-

Abstract

Face masks have become common protective measures in community and workplace environments to help reduce the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Face masks can make it difficult to hear and understand speech, particularly for people with hearing loss. An aim of our cross-sectional survey was to investigate the extent that face masks as a health and safety protective measure against SARS-CoV-2 have affected understanding speech in the day-to-day lives of adults with deafness or hearing loss, and identify possible strategies to improve communication accessibility. We analyzed closed- and open-ended survey responses of 656 adults who self-identified as D/deaf or hard of hearing. Over 80% of respondents reported difficulty with understanding others who wore face masks. The proportion of those experiencing difficulty increased with increasing hearing loss severity. Recommended practical supports to facilitate communication and social interaction included more widespread use of clear face masks to aid lip-reading; improved clarity in policy guidance on face masks; and greater public awareness and understanding about ways to more clearly communicate with adults with hearing loss while wearing face masks.

Item Metadata

Title
Communication with face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic for adults with hearing loss
Creator
Poon, Brenda T.; Jenstad, Lorienne M., 1971-
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Date Issued
2022-03-21
Description
Face masks have become common protective measures in community and workplace environments to help reduce the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Face masks can make it difficult to hear and understand speech, particularly for people with hearing loss. An aim of our cross-sectional survey was to investigate the extent that face masks as a health and safety protective measure against SARS-CoV-2 have affected understanding speech in the day-to-day lives of adults with deafness or hearing loss, and identify possible strategies to improve communication accessibility. We analyzed closed- and open-ended survey responses of 656 adults who self-identified as D/deaf or hard of hearing. Over 80% of respondents reported difficulty with understanding others who wore face masks. The proportion of those experiencing difficulty increased with increasing hearing loss severity. Recommended practical supports to facilitate communication and social interaction included more widespread use of clear face masks to aid lip-reading; improved clarity in policy guidance on face masks; and greater public awareness and understanding about ways to more clearly communicate with adults with hearing loss while wearing face masks.
Subject
COVID-19; Face masks; Deaf; Hard of hearing; Hearing loss; Communication; Social interaction; Barriers; Speechreading; Accessibility
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2022-04-13
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
DOI
10.14288/1.0412775
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/81187
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of
Citation
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications. 2022 Mar 21;7(1):24
Publisher DOI
10.1186/s41235-022-00376-8
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher; Other
Copyright Holder
The Author(s)
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Rights

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)