There are unique challenges and one big perk associated with COVID-19 and Hearing Loss.
Perks
As a person who is hard of hearing, there is one primary perk with this whole COVID-19 situation. That is virtual meetings. March, April, and May mark the season for Toastmaster speech contests. Toastmasters has mandated that club meetings and any District-related events (like contests) must be held virtually. The primary vehicle for these virtual events is Zoom.
What is absolutely wonderful about these virtual meetings is that I am able to have the audio go directly into my ear via Bluetooth. Additionally, I can see the faces of those talking! A real benefit for one who relies on reading lips to comprehend speech. However, there are occasions when the audio is not in sync with the video. Then reading lips is nearly impossible. That is frustrating.
More frustrating, however, are the blasted MASKS !
Challenges
The masks pose cause a few challenges for one who is hard of hearing.
No Lips
The masks cover lips. So I cannot read them. This is an especially big problem when going through drive-throughs for food. Understanding what is being said over the small speaker is always a challenge. However, if something is unclear I explain I have a hearing loss and we’ll straighten this out when I drive to the window and see their face and I can read their lips.
Can I do that when everyone is wearing a mask? Nope.
I don’t go through drive throughs now unless someone is with me because of this setback with the damn masks.
Cannot see
I need glasses to read anything like product labels in the stores. The blasted masks, however, cause my glasses to fog up! So I am not only deaf because I cannot read lips, I am blind because I cannot read labels. Unbelievably frustrating. For that reason, I cannot go shopping alone.
Types of Masks
The shortage of masks is a problem, of course. Initially I had a few paper masks with headbands to fasten them to my face. But I ran out of them. More are on order, but they will not be here until mid-May. A friend of mine acquired a homemade cloth mask. Great! I can wash and wear it.
Not that simple!
The mask is an earloop mask. You should have seen me try to put those straps around my ears while wearing a cochlear and a hearing -aid. I had to abandon wearing the cochlear, and the hearing-aid didn’t fit as securely on the ear When I removed the mask the hearing aid fell off. Really annoying.
Someone sent me a link to the marvelous invention of masks with plastic over the lip area. That’s great. Yes. But not everyone, or hardly anyone, in the outside world, is going to wear a mask designed for lip reading. I presume doctors, nurses, dentists, and other essential service providers have these on hand to communicate with those of us who must read lips.
COVID-19 and Hearing Loss
So, given these challenges, I find it much easier and comfortable to just stay indoors and not go anywhere. I, along with everyone else, will be SO grateful when this whole COVID-19 issue is over with. Not only will I be able to go places, but I will also be able to read lips and see, too.
