Physical distancing, handwashing, and face masks have all become part of the ‘new normal’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. While mask-wearing has been adopted as an important safety measure to reduce the spread of the virus, it has also imposed barriers on parts of society – especially in terms of accessibility. This is problematic for the 4 million Canadians with some degree of hearing impairment. Many rely on facial expressions, lip reading, hearing aids,and sign language to communicate – all of which have been impacted by mask wearing (Bardell& Urichuk, 2020). Masks hide facial expressions that are critical for providing context and non-verbal cues in conversation, including sign language (NDC, 2020). Masks also muffle and distort clear speech, especially in combination with background noise and physically distancing. Masks and their policies are a significant communicative barrier for people with hearing impairments and need to be made more inclusive to allow full participation in society.
In addition to communicative barriers, pre-existing barriers faced by these individuals are now being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (McQuigge, 2020). Individuals with hearing disabilities have increased rates of socio-economic insecurity; increased rates of chronic conditions (increasing risk for COVID-19 complications); and increased rates of depression and anxiety (Sabatello et al., 2020). Hearing disabilities are also disproportionately high in racial/ethnic minorities and older adults – both already neglected populations. It is clear that marginalization has long been an issue in this community in terms of society and health, and now also in emergency responses (Sabatello et al., 2020). Minor challenges such as shopping or accessing health care have become major challenges. The lack of policies ensuring accommodation and safety for people with hearing disabilities not only disadvantages them in times of crisis but reinforces longstanding marginalization.
The Canadian government has promoted the use of clear masks for those with hearing impairments, though no efforts have been made to improve their accessibility nor spread the message (GC, 2020). This has resulted in limited public awareness of how masks can pose difficulties when going about everyday activities (Goomansingh, 2020). People including Leah Riddell of the Ontario Cultural Society of the Deaf have expressed countless instances of the publics dismissiveness to repeat themselves or otherwise accommodate those affected by mask-wearing (Merali, 2020). This puts individuals with invisible hearing impairments in an uncomfortable position to either advocate for themselves or suffer the consequences of these barriers. To make matters worse, sign language interpreter and intervenor services have been significantly scaled back due to COVID-19 – these were already limited prior to the pandemic(McQuigge, 2020). It is critical to devise a solution that will help both those afflicted and the general public in understanding and improving these unique circumstances.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that individuals with disabilities have a basic right to “full and effective participation and inclusion in society” (UN,n.d.). The implementation of new measures without attenuating their repercussions indicates alack of care for these populations and their human rights. Furthermore, it puts these populations at greater risk of COVID-19 without access to alternative masks, while also causing social isolation and stigmatization. Self-advocacy is not a fair solution. In order to achieve full and effective participation policy changes are needed and information has to be made widely available educating the public on this topic. Knowledge is power – conveying the intricacy of communicative difficulties due to COVID measures will change the treatment and stigma faced by people with hearing impairments.
Face masks cannot simply disappear, they are important for public health and safety and have become inextricably linked with COVID-19. Clear face masks are an increasingly popular solution to help improve communication. Individuals such as Meredith Brookings from Whitby,Ontario have altered their businesses to produce clear masks that incorporate a plastic insert making the mouth visible (Merali, 2020). Face shields are another alternative that allow the entire face to be visible (Bardell & Urichuk, 2020). These options are easily made at home, are reusable, and have been shown to be effective at reducing COVID-19 transmission. While these two alternatives provide great benefits over traditional cloth masks, they still impact speech.This can be minimized through slowing down speech, properly articulating, using intonation,and making eye-contact while talking (Bardell & Urichuk, 2020). This allows more time to process speech and clearly understand words, helping to mitigate the effects of masks. It also makes it easier for people to know if they are being addressed – a commonly encountered issue(Merali, 2020). In loud, public environments with background noise, transcription apps have been a helpful solution. Many free applications such as Apple Notes and Google Live Transcribe are widely available and intuitive to use (Bardell & Urichuk, 2020).
For these solutions to be effective, the general public needs to be using them. This is where policy and public-awareness campaigns are of paramount importance (Kohek et al.,2020). Policy needs to address people with hearing impairments by providing accessible solutions instead of recommendations. This could be done by distributing clear masks at no cost in commonly frequented public spaces. Making them mandatory for public service workers including grocery store clerks and health care workers will greatly improve access to essential services. This will also help make alternative masks such as clear masks the norm; many may even choose to wear clear masks to improve their own pandemic experience. This benefits all of society by reinstating a level of friendliness and humanity that is hidden by masks – smiles.
To increase awareness on facilitating communication when wearing masks, current informative measures taken by the government in regard to COVID-19 could simply incorporate this information, in accessible formats. This includes signs on storefronts, advertising in the media, and addressing the issue in public health briefings. Additionally, policy needs to ensure the training of public workers in accessibility practices. Workplaces should have to train their staff on how masks can restrict access to services and educate them on relevant human rights laws (Kohek et al., 2020).
With widespread knowledge and accessible policies, people with hearing impairments will experience fewer incidences of stigma, fear, and social exclusion. This will help the public understand that accommodation can be done safely and easily, eliminating fear and intimidation in the process. Using COVID-19 as a means to improve the public understanding of hearing impairments will hopefully aid in reducing the pre-existing barriers and marginalization faced by these communities. This will help change the discourse (or lack there-of) surrounding barriers faced by people with disabilities. The ultimate goal should be to achieve effective communication at all times, not simply accommodation in times of crisis (Sabatello et al., 2020). Achieving a more equitable and accepting society will require effort at the policy and individual level, but it does not need to be difficult.
References
Bardell, T., & Urichuk, M. (2020, June 19). Masked communication: How to support individualswith hearing impairment during COVID-19. Stop Gap. https://stopgap.ca/masked-communication-how-to-support-individuals-with-hearing-impairment-during-covid-19/
Goomansingh, C. (2020, August 4). COVID-19: Face masks spark ‘fear and anxiety’ among deaf,hard of hearing. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/7247815/coronavirus-face-masks-fear-anxiety-deaf/
Government of Canada (GC). (2020, November 3). Non-medical masks and face-coverings:About. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks/about-non-medical-masks-face-coverings.html
Kohek, J., Seth, A., Edwards, M., & Zwicker, J. (2020). Mandatory Mask Bylaws: ConsiderationsBeyond Exemption For Persons With Disabilities.
McQuigge, M. (2020, May 27). Deaf, hard-of-hearing Canadians ask for greater support during COVID-19 pandemic. National Post. https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/deaf-hard-of-hearing-canadians-ask-for-greater-support-during-covid-19-pandemicfbclid=IwAR3ysO6LEeEsZjwJnamYrHYnB82pkBFXlOOsWM7FH1puhQq27GY9V2FBxs8
Merali, F. (2020, May 28). ‘Invisible disability’: Masks making it harder to communicated, deafand hard of hearing say. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/masks-and-barriers-communicating-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-1.5579166
National Deaf Center (NDC). (2020, July 30). Communicating with a face mask: What collegesneed to know for deaf students (and everyone). The National Deaf Center of PostsecondaryOutcomes. https://www.nationaldeafcenter.org/news/communicating-face-mask-what-colleges-need-know-deaf-students-and-everyone
Sabatello, M., Burke, T. B., McDonald, K. E., & Appelbaum, P. S. (2020). Disability, ethics, and health care in the COVID-19 pandemic. American journal of public health, 110(10), 1523-1527.
United Nations (UN). (n.d.). Article 3 – General principles. Department of Economic and SocialAffairs. https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/article-3-general-principles.html