Masks, Plexiglas create barriers for Ontario’s hearing loss community

Toronto resident Laura Mather recalls the first time her privacy and security was compromised, as a person with hearing loss living amid COVID-19.

After masks became mandatory indoors throughout the city, she was at a pharmacy, picking up a prescription for a loved one.

Normally during these types of interactions, Mather relies heavily on being able to speech read, but because the pharmacist was wearing a medical mask, she was unable to do so. 

“She needed me to confirm some information and she’s repeating herself — same words, same tone, same volume — about three times,” Mather said. “The pharmacist’s conversation with me was so not private that the person six feet behind me standing in line was able to tell me what they said.”

Toronto resident and business owner Laura Mather has been speaking out about barriers faced by the hearing loss community, due to COVID-19. – Laura Mather photo

Mather’s experiences are not unique.

Keegan Noxell, treasurer of the Young Adults Network at the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, said a simple task such as ordering food has left him guessing and hoping that he understood the information correctly.

“When everyone is wearing masks, it is crucial that your voice is clear and projected. If you are having difficulty hearing, ask the person to rephrase what was said to add further context to the conversation,” he said, adding that having a pen and paper handy can also be helpful. 

Noxell said from a business perspective, he would like to see more awareness training on the varied communication needs of customers, so that staff can better assist those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Mather said solutions can be as easy as having a communication card with commonly asked questions taped to the Plexiglas at a checkout line or a reception desk, or having a whiteboard with a dry erase marker that can be sanitized after each use.

Mather is an entrepreneur and one of a number of individuals who have been creating and selling masks with a clear window that aids in speech reading. She said she’s also prototyping a system that would allow for tablets to be attached to Plexiglas and loaded with a transcription application.

Rex Banks, a doctor of audiology and director of hearing health at Canadian Hearing Services, said there are numerous transcription apps out there that individuals can download to their mobile devices, but there are other ways to transcribe as well.

Rex Banks is an audiologist and director of hearing health at Canadian Hearing Services. – CHS photo

One simple solution can be increasing the font size on their mobile device and then turning the microphone on in the “notes” application — which will transcribe their speech — and holding it out to the second party in the conversation.

Aside from this, Banks said people who have hearing aids should make an effort to wear them and if they don’t have them, they may want to consider taking that step.

Through virtual care, Banks said he is able to remotely adjust people’s hearing aids as they need it.

As well, he said there is recent technology that can be utilized such as a “face mask mode” on new hearing devices, which enhances frequencies that are most important for speech.

“Masks are causing communication issues because instantly everything is very muffled, making it more difficult to understand speech, particularly in the high frequencies,” he said. “The masks also take away our ability to read and see facial expressions and to speech read … which gives us lot of vital information in terms of understanding some words and intent and tone during communication.”

Marilyn Kingdon, president of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA), agrees.

“The full face mask, for every person with hearing loss, that’s kind of their worst nightmare,” she said, adding that CHHA has partnered with another local organization on a clear mask campaign. 

Marilyn Kingdon is the president of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. -CHHA photo

Kingdon said CHHA has been working with the federal and provincial government to promote communication access and discuss how that works.

“Whether it’s with respect to wearing a clear mask which works really well, or providing captioning, or just providing that accessible type of communication across the board — without necessarily having someone to go in and ask for it or follow up on it — I’d like to see just as a general policy that access is made available,” she added.

Mary Kay McCoy, chairperson at Voice for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, said children across Ontario who have hearing loss are experiencing their own unique challenges this year, whether they learning in person or through virtual school.

At school, children with hearing loss are typically connected to an FM system through which their teacher is able to speak via microphone, directly into their hearing aids.

McCoy said typically, in non-COVID times, the microphone gets passed around the room so the student can also hear class discussions and comments or questions from their peers, but due to COVID-19, they are now missing out on that portion of their classroom experience.

“They’re losing out on the social interaction with the kids in the class because they can’t pass that mic around like they used to,” McCoy said. “That’s a struggle.”

Mary Kay McCoy is a chairperson with Voice for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children. – Voice photo

She added that for kids learning from home, the experience varies, depending on how the teacher is using Zoom technology and how many children are permitted to have their microphones on at one time — however, many of them are dealing with hearing fatigue.

“For deaf kids to sit there for two hours is the same as a child with no hearing loss sitting there for five or six hours,” she added.

Noxell cited similar issues for young adults in his age cohort who are seeking educational and employment opportunities and not only dealing with the stress caused by the full face mask, but the technology as well.

He said some of the video conferencing platforms that are being used have inadequate captioning options available, or require an additional cost to use the captioning.

“Without this, communication can be misinterpreted, and key information can go amiss,” he said.

“It is critical that solutions be developed to remove those barriers, as it not only puts our members’ employment at risk but can lead to higher stress (and) anxiety levels and listening fatigue, impacting mental health.”