Wear a Mask that Makes You Smile!

Life as we know it was turned upside down in 2020. We’ve had to adjust to a number of significant changes to limit the spread of the virus.

One of these major changes is that in Québec, people need to wear a mask when they’re in partially or fully enclosed public places. While it’s necessary, this new measure can pose a challenge for communication, especially if you have hearing loss. Masks make lip reading impossible, which can be challenging for people who are used to relying on it to help them understand what others are saying. In public places, ambient noise and the use of Plexiglas panels also contribute to making communication more difficult, especially in combination with the wearing of masks.

Social distancing is another measure that can cause problems for people with hearing loss. If you keep a distance of two metres with a speaker, the volume of the voice is reduced, since the sound energy is dissipated through the ambient noise. For example, in a classroom, a student located near the teacher will hear better than a student sitting at the back of the classroom, because of the proximity to the speaker. Physical distancing can therefore interfere with communication.

Masks can also affect children who are learning language. Caregivers of young children now need to wear a mask for many hours each day, but that prevents the children from seeing, understanding, and responding to adult facial expressions. In turn, that can affect language development, among other things. In fact, one article states that the younger children are and the longer they’re exposed to expressionless faces (except for the eyes), the greater the threat to their brain development and mental health.

Fortunately, there are several ways to limit the repercussions of the public health directives. For instance, people with hearing loss, and the people they’re talking to, can use a number of different communication strategies. You can see some examples of these strategies on page 19.

Another possible solution is to wear masks with a “window” that allows for lip reading. One such mask, the Sourire mask created by Jean Airoldi and Rosalie Taillefer-Simard, is now available at boutique.lobe.ca/en/. For each mask sold, $1 will be donated to the Fondation Sourdine, which supports the École oraliste de Québec pour enfants malentendants ou sourds.

By finding new solutions, together we can prevent the virus from spreading while limiting the impact that the protective measures have on hearing-impaired people and on children’s language development.