Face coverings leave deaf people feeling isolated
Masks mean pair cannot rely on lip reading
Face masks have left deaf people feeling isolated, anxious and scared to leave the house, a mother and daughter with hearing loss say.
Leigh Thompsett and her daughter, Jayne Arnold, from Maidstone, both rely heavily on lip reading, making it almost impossible to understand what people are saying if their face is covered.
The pair want the Government to promote masks with see-through panels, so the public is still protected from Covid-19, but deaf people can once again interact with others.
Mrs Thompsett says the problem began at the start of lockdown, when supermarket staff wearing masks made it impossible for her to understand them, leaving her so anxious she now only uses the click and collect service.
But problems have got far worse since non-essential shops, pubs and cafes have reopened.
Miss Arnold, 18, says lots of her friends have been going out to socialise but she feels uncomfortable joining them.
The former Maidstone Grammar School for Girls pupil said: “It affects me all the time. Even when out walking my dog, if people wearing masks try and talk to me I just cannot understand them, especially when there is a lot of background noise as my hearing aids only pick this up. “Recently, I did go to the pub with one of my close friends who is also deaf but we couldn’t understand the waitress at all.
It makes me feel a lot more isolated as it is hard to keep up with conversations when there are no masks let alone when people wear masks.”
Miss Arnold has been going to shops since they reopened, but does not feel able to go on her own, and thinks the new law requiring customers to wear face masks from Saturday will make things even tougher. At the moment she will only visit shops if she is with someone else.
Miss Arnold, who has bilateral mild to moderate hearing loss and Mrs Thomspett, who is completely deaf in her right ear and has profound loss in her left, would like more people to consider wearing face masks with transparent panels.
Mrs Thompsett, an assessment officer at deaf charity, HiKent, said: “This would be so much more helpful, not just for the deaf community but also for people who suffer from autism, ADHD, the elderly, young children. Face shields are also helpful as they do allow your lips to be seen so we can understand.”