Masks for deaf & hearing impaired...

[kadee79]

They are transparent over the mouth....so they can read your lips.

While most of us instinctively reach out for the safety of face masks when we step out, for the hearing impaired and deaf community that uses lip-reading and facial expressions to communicate, this poses a major challenge in the ongoing pandemic. Among them is 37-year-old Madan Kumar P, who works with the Government’s Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE). The issue struck Amit Sharma, vice principal, National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD), Dehradun (under the MSJE, Government of India). Which is why, he along with his team at NIEPVD came up with transparent or clear masks in the last week of April.

indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/coronavirus-pandemic-lockdown-disabilities-transparent-clear-masks-deaf-hearing-impaired-need-to-know-6416072/

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

I actually saw a blurb about this well before the last week in April. I have struggled to understand while in public, but I can’t see people going out and getting masks like these just to cater to a group of people they may never encounter.

[kadee79]

And when I had a procedure about 2 weeks ago, the nurse kept having to lift her mask so I could understand her with my hearing aids.  Another gal I know who was having emergency work done...the nurse had to remove her mask so she could read her lips cause they took her hearing aids away while the procedure was done.

There are also more & more of us with hearing issues as we age....some from listening to loud music in our youth or other reasons too.

[weltschmerz]

I never realized just how much I depended on lip-reading before everyone started wearing masks.

[empress of self-improvement]

May 21, 2020 11:55:51 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

I never realized just how much I depended on lip-reading before everyone started wearing masks.

Oh, I know I depend on it immensely. As I told my boss last week, if I can't see you, I can't hear you. It's a pain in the ass.