{"id":1491,"date":"2020-08-05T13:29:46","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T17:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlestonhearing.com\/?p=1491"},"modified":"2020-08-05T13:29:46","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T17:29:46","slug":"creative-ways-to-communicate-while-wearing-masks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hearingsc.com\/creative-ways-to-communicate-while-wearing-masks\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Ways to Communicate While Wearing Masks"},"content":{"rendered":"

In most public spaces, face masks are required to stop the spread of COVID-19. Most of us are aware that masks make communication difficult because they muffle voices. No one is more aware of these difficulties than the hearing loss community, who have had to come up with creative solutions to improve communication while staying safe.<\/p>\n

Mask Buttons<\/h2>\n

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Having difficulty making out the words someone is saying through their face mask can be frustrating, but not knowing when someone is trying to get your attention can be downright dangerous. In public spaces like the grocery store, someone may try to get your attention so they can get by you at a safe distance or even warn you if you\u2019re about to walk through a wet spot on the floor or other hazard.<\/p>\n

Amy Bull, a career services coordinator for Hondros College of Nursing in Westerville, OH, who has hearing loss, described a common scenario when students walk into her office: \u201cI will say again and again, \u2019I cannot hear you,\u2019 and their initial reaction is to rip off their mask every time and keep talking,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not doing anybody any good.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, she came up with a solution. Bull created buttons to pin onto her mask that convey that she has hearing loss<\/a> and needs her conversation partner to speak up. Some of the buttons, which can be found on her Etsy shop<\/a>, read:<\/p>\n