The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
It can be a challenge
Face masks can present problems for hearing, communication
Wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus has delivered a specific set of problems for some people, including those who are hearing impaired.
Over-the-ear hearing aids may slip off inadvertently when placing the elastic bands attached to face masks over the ears.
In some cases a wearer may not even realize their hearing aid is missing.
When diminished hearing is first noticed the issue may be attributed to requiring a battery replacement for the listening device.
If the displacement goes unnoticed the implement can be lost which in turn may generate significant concern as well as cost for replacement.
“I’ve had to replace several hearing aids already,” said Dr. Jane Kukula of Advanced Audiology Concepts in Mentor.
She advises those with an over-the-ear style hearing aid to check that it is in place right after putting on a face mask.
Along with the potential loss of the sound intensifier, face masks can produce other hearing issues.
“Kind of what happens with the face mask is that everything gets muffled a little bit. The clar- ity of the speech is degraded and it’s harder to hear,” Kukula said, adding that lip and facial clues which are often necessary for crisp, clear signals assisting with the communication process are also obscured.
The audiologist noted that “All of us, even people with normal hearing…our ears don’t catch everything. The brain picks up facial expressions, lip cues…hand gestures.”
Kukula noted that a patient recently had to leave her job because the stress of trying to communicate with the barrier of face masks was too much to handle.
Straining to hear also requires extra physical and mental work which can result in fatigue.
“There’s so much confusion now. Some elderly are really struggling,” she said.
However, there are options which can help alleviate issues created by the coverings.
Hearing aids without an overthe-ear piece don’t interfere with masks. However, they’re not suitable for all types of hearing loss.
Kukula recommends switching to face shields which don’t require the need to touch ears and also allow for visual speech clues due to the see-through guard.
For those preferring not to wear a face shield there are turtle-neck style face masks that can be pulled over the nose and are less apt to knock out hearing aids.
“People with hearing loss often just smile and nod and pretend that they’re hearing.” — Dr. Jane Kukula
Other factors to improve communication deal with the environment.
Although nowadays social distancing is often necessary, when the amount of space between the speaker and listener is somewhat reduced a better chance at effective interaction is produced.
The speaker can make hearing easier by slowing down the speech pattern and inserting small pauses.
Distinctly pronouncing each syllable also helps. Another hint is to ensure that the listener has the speaker’s attention before talking begins.
The listener can help to by asking to have comments repeated and rephrased.
“People with hearing loss often just smile and nod and pretend that they’re hearing,” Kukula said, adding that if all else fails “there’s always paper and pencil to write things down.”