Mask requirement deepens communication challenges for the deaf in the COVID-19 world
The challenges facing those who are deaf or hard of hearing have mounted since the COVID-19 pandemic began - such as difficulties communicating with people wearing face masks, accessing spoken information and participating in video calls.
Advocates say they're prepared to step up their push for accommodations and inclusion since the requirement to wear masks in indoor public places went into effect Friday across the state.
Masks not only obscure the wearers' mouth, preventing lip-reading, but they also cover much of the rest of the face. This hides facial expressions, which can help people, especially those who are deaf, understand the content and context of spoken communication.
"I know in my community we are already marginalized, and this is just another step of being even more marginalized, more isolated from others than we already are," said Jennie Halvorsen of Mundelein, who is deaf and serves as a board member for the Lake County Center for Independent Living. "It feels like there's just another thing that we have to go through."
Halvorsen has experienced the challenges of communicating without lip-reading or seeing the expressions of cashiers at the grocery store.
"I can't understand the sounds that I'm hearing through my hearing aides, which I'm wearing in both ears. They give me a sound, but I can't understand what the sound is," she said. "I have to use my vision to understand what I'm hearing, and that's where the lip-reading comes in such great part. I put my vision together with what I hear."
Lip reading is possible with roughly 30% to 45% of English words, said Corey Axelrod of Arlington Heights, who is deaf and serves as president of the Illinois Association of the Deaf. "The everyday things that you can see off of a person's face" help fill the communication gap, he said.
So far during the COVID-19 pandemic, Axelrod said, the Illinois Association of the Deaf has advocated for better broadcasting of American Sign Language interpreters during government news briefings and for more inclusivity when it comes to updates about the virus.
Axelrod said the virus also has raised concerns about some of the methods people who are deaf use to communicate with those who can hear, such as writing messages back and forth on paper or exchanging a phone to show typed texts.
"The best thing is to actually ask the deaf or hard of hearing person what's best for them," Axelrod said. "More often, hearing individuals are not asking what works for us and make assumptions."
Halvorsen said several friends have been posting on social media about transparent face masks as a potential solution to the lip-reading issue.
"I'm trying to tell them, 'I'm not the person you need to be sending these to,'" Halvorsen said. "I need you to wear them or others to wear them."
Wearing any type of face mask can be a challenge for people who use hearing aides, said Dr. Maria Morrison, an audiologist at Geneva Hearing Services. The ear loops on standard masks can pull out hearing aides when wearers remove the masks.
"So we've had patients who have been in a parking lot, they take their mask off before they get in their car. They get home, then they realize their hearing aid isn't on," Morrison said in a written statement.
Advocates say they hope the communication challenges of the pandemic illustrate the need for companies and individuals to be proactive to ensure their message reaches everyone.
Halvorsen said she's pushing for better visual indicators at restaurant drive-through lanes, for one example. Morrison said she's encouraging people to speak more slowly while wearing masks and to be patient with those who may not immediately understand.
Axelrod said he is working through his consulting business, 2axend, to help video conference users and online-learning teachers make their virtual meetings or lessons more conducive to people who are deaf.
"This is changing the way deaf and hard of hearing individuals are interacting with hearing individuals," Axelrod said about the pandemic. "So much of day-to-day life is dependent on sound."
How I conducted phone interviews with sources who are deaf
Two sources quoted in these stories, Corey Axelrod and Jennie Halvorsen, are deaf. But in this age of social distancing, they were able and willing to conduct phone interviews. Here's how it worked:
• I spoke as usual into my cellphone to ask questions.
• A live interpreter through a video relay service translated what I said into my source's preferred language, American Sign Language for Axelrod and Pidgin Sign English for Halvorsen.
• Axelrod and Halvorsen received my questions through the translation and spoke their answers back to me.
• The relay service is available 24/7, paid for by federal and state Telecommunications Relay Service funds.