See-through face masks will ease isolation of lip-readers

THE Department of Health and Social Care is in the process of procuring seethrough face masks, after charities and professional bodies warned face coverings make communication “impossible” for deaf people.

Face coverings became mandatory on public transport and inside hospitals in England from June 15.

But the widespread uptake of masks is leaving many people who rely on lipreading to communicate feeling “isolated” and “lonely”, with some even reluctant to leave the house as a result.

Work is under way by the department to source hundreds of thousands of clear face masks that conform to current regulations, for use across the health and social care sector, The Sunday Telegraph understands. Ian Noon, head of policy at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said although public health must take priority, face masks are “already making life harder” for the UK’s 12million deaf people. “Almost all of them rely on facial expressions and lip-reading to understand what others are saying,” he said.

“Feelings of isolation and loneliness are also a very real threat, and some deaf people have already told us they’re less keen to leave the house or use public transport,” he added.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists said its members have faced “barriers” to their work during the pandemic.

“We want our members to use a clear mask, as by the nature of what we do – which is supporting people with communication needs – it’s really important that the [patient] can see our mouths and our faces,” said Kamini Gadhok, the college’s chief executive.