Read My Lips - The Unforeseen Challenges Masks Create for the Deaf Community

The Coronavirus has made masks a necessity to our everyday lives, causing major lifestyle difficulties for those in the Deaf Community.

Article By Leah Whalen

Many D/deaf and hard of hearing individuals rely on lipreading as their ticket into the hearing world. As a current ASL student, my teacher, who is Deaf herself, had told our class about how lipreading allowed her more independence since she would not need to rely on other family members to interpret for her. With the sudden rise of the Coronavirus pandemic, this independence was taken away from her - through the ability to lipread.

Humans as a whole often do not pay attention to global hardships that do not affect them personally, a common response to issues such as racism and homophobia. Ableism is not an exception. Most people who are D/deaf, hard of hearing, or otherwise acquainted with the Deaf community find masks as a difficulty for everything besides breathing and sweating, unlike the rest of us. It’s time to be aware of the heavy blows that masks have made towards the D/deaf community, and discover how we can help.

The Challenges

The obvious challenge faced by D/deaf people is the inability to hear or even know when they are being addressed, but with the current rise in the use of video communication services, myriad obstacles prevail against the deaf community. We all know how annoying it is to experience freezing videos and blurry imaging, but for a D/deaf person, this can be even more frustrating than wearing a mask because they are desperately trying to understand others with the added stress of communicating on a digital platform.

Additionally, individuals who do not know sign language are being further isolated from knowing the uncertainties that are happening around them in real time. As a New Yorker, I personally have been hanging off of Governor Cuomo's every word daily to stay informed of current events - something I could not imagine lacking access to. Typically for video-based information, D/deaf and Hard of Hearing people could use Closed Captioning, but it is hardly ever in real-time. In the unprecedented times that we live in, even the slightest delay can be harmful.

D/deaf people also value their independence very highly, arguably more than a hearing person would. This is because they are constantly recognized by societal norms as inferior, or that they cannot complete tasks on their own due to their hearing loss. This makes it very difficult to accept help; after all, it can be embarrassing to have to rely on your child to tell you what the cashier said.

And in our new, distanced normals, even instances such as curbside pickup are not as accessible as we think they are. Although this method of pickup benefits those with mobility issues or who are practicing social distancing as much as possible, the problem for the D/deaf lies in calling the store to let them know of your arrival, which is impossible for someone who cannot hear through the phone.

Ways to Communicate

Unfortunately, this is not the first time those with hearing loss have had to change their forms of communication for the hearing. There are Deaf people who choose not to speak nor lipread as their preferred form of communication is sign language, and when faced with the problem of a cashier or clerk not knowing sign language, a notepad or a whiteboard is a realistic alternative to communicate. There might be a small difficulty with word syntax, but other than that, it is simple! This mode of communication may be best for the D/deaf community to utilize - especially with the current added advantage of not having to communicate within physical proximity.

Something we have all been hearing about recently are clear masks; although I thought they may fog up, products like the Communication Masks are made with a special clear material that keeps from fogging so that it is completely realistic to be able to lip-read through them. But Communication Masks do not benefit those with a hearing loss if they themselves wear them; in order for the D/deaf to read lips, the hearing population needs to advocate for wearing clear masks to improve the communication barriers experienced by those who are D/deaf or Hard of Hearing. Slowly, those with hearing loss are getting their frustrations heard, and some companies, businesses, and restaurants are providing clear masks for their employees. Although customer and retail services are the most important jobs for clear masks to take place, the more people that wear them, the better.

It sounds like common sense, but in this time of uncertainty, it is important to be patient and remember that you do not know everyone’s story. Compassion is key in this time of need.

Sources

Gilbody-Dickerson C. (July 7, 2020). Coronavirus: Clear Masks Made to Help Lip-reading Deaf People. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-53251962

Goldstein L. (April 3, 2020). What to Know About Clear Medical Masks for Lipreading. Hearinglikeme.https://www.hearinglikeme.com/what-to-know-about-clear-medical-masks-for-lip-reading/

Lacke S. (May 16, 2020). Keeping People Safe from COVID-19 Limits Deaf People’s Access. It Doesn’t Have to be this Way. NBCNews. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/keeping-people-safe-covid-19-limits-deaf-people-s-access-ncna1207371?fbclid=IwAR14nPyHcg51lJztpzkPxGxA56I7XmyRLvV13tpqjoxq7_KGMoB9DsbPpKc