Wearing a mask

creates a problem many people do not understand. 

Now there are good reasons for wearing a mask. Even in this state we are required to wear a mask when going in to visit the Senior Cat.  There are a range of other people who wear masks.

Middle Cat and I wear masks to and from the Senior Cat's room. We take them off in there.  And no, we are not being irresponsible. There is a good reason for this. If we are wearing masks the Senior Cat cannot hear what we are saying. 

The Senior Cat has been unconsciously learning to lip read a little as he grows increasingly deaf. Many other older people are in the same position.

I have a much younger friend who also relies on lip reading. She was here a couple of days ago and we discussed the issue. She had been for a blood test and the nurse was, rightly, wearing a mask. My friend had to explain that unless she could see the nurse's lips she would not be able to understand what she was saying.  

I know someone else who has been using hearing aids for a long time now. She also relies on lip reading but many people are unaware of that. They believe that the hearing aids are all that is needed in order for her to hear like everyone else. That simply isn't true. It is much easier for her if she can see the person's face.

These people have not had formal lessons in lip reading. It is something they have picked up unconsciously. Their past ability to hear has been normal or close enough to normal that they have learned both speech and language in the way that other hearing people do. It is a very different situation from those who are deaf from birth.

And it has only been the Covid19 situation and the increased use of masks which has made some people aware that they have some degree of hearing loss. They have been unaware that they rely on a certain amount of lip reading, especially in crowded situations. 

I have lost count of the number of times I have tried to explain this. Yesterday I had to explain this again. I was at a meeting. People came in wearing masks, required in the building the meeting was held in. The person who runs the meeting called us all to order - something everyone picked up on because of the activity around them. 

When he started on the agenda though I stopped him.

    "D... you have three people here who can't hear you. They need to see your lips."

He stopped, looked at me and then at the three who were facing him. Then he pulled off his mask and said,

    "Masks off everyone so R...,O.... and J.... can hear."

The meeting went the way it usually does but he stopped me on the way out and said,

    "I never gave it a thought... and of course that is why they always sit facing me and sometimes seem not to pick something up."

I think D.... will remember in future but you can't see deafness. It is an immensely isolating thing. 

If you are wearing a mask and someone is having difficulty consider they might have a hearing loss. Remove the mask  in order to speak to them or write something down for them.