The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on everyone, but it has been even more difficult for people who have hearing loss.
Masks muffle the sound
Some masks muffle the sound of someone speaking more than others. Unfortunately, the masks with clear portions which help us read lips tend to be the ones that muffle the sound the most. Grainer College for Engineering has done a study to compare all of the current options. What the video to see and hear the difference yourself:
In the above video, he mentions the use of lapel microphones. Many hearing aids on the market today work with an accessory called a remote microphone. It is a small device that can be clipped onto the collar of a talker and sends their voice directly into the hearing aids.
Reach out to us if you’d like to find out if this is an option for yourself or a loved one.
We all hear better when we can see the talker’s face
At Highland Hearing Clinic, we have sourced some ClearMasks, which your audiologist can wear if you rely on lip-reading more than hearing. It’s sad that we have to choose between either hearing well or seeing the mouth but this is the best option we’ve found so far:
The future of masks?
Hopefully a silver lining to the pandemic will be the creation of a clear medical mask that allows sound to pass through better. This would be beneficial for everyone, as 55% of communication is visual. Plus, it’s just nice to see someone’s smile ☺
Please reach out if there is any way we can support you through this time.
