The hard of hearing

I wear a mask when I go out because I know that it greatly reduces the possibility of transmitting the virus. But I have a problem: I’m hard of hearing. It’s an inconvenience I’ve learned to live with, as my hearing aids are sufficient in most situations, but I rely largely on lip-reading, and when people’s mouths are covered, I can’t read their lips.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, “Masks attenuate sound by 3-12 decibels and also result in low-pass filtering of high-frequency sounds, making it more difficult to understand speech and some higher-pitched voices.” Not only is volume lower, speech is muffled, and “masks remove the ability to see facial expressions, which augment communication.”

Approximately 600,000 people in the United States are deaf, and the Survey of Income and Program Participation shows that about 10 million Americans are hard of hearing. That’s a lot of people.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires accommodations for people with disabilities, but I don’t know how this disability can be overcome during the pandemic. It would be helpful if everyone wore masks with a transparent section over the mouth, but that isn’t likely to happen.

At the very least, it will be helpful if people acknowledge that some of us can’t understand them when they are wearing masks and make allowances for us. Be patient with us when we ask you to repeat over and over! I may start wearing a sign around my neck saying, “I can’t hear you.”

I hope some creative person solves this dilemma for the sake of the millions like me who are even more isolated now than other people.

MAYA PORTER

Johnson