Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Hoglund Family Hearing and Audiology Services
As wearing face masks becomes the new normal across the country, one group of people is adapting to a unique set of mask-related challenges: the hearing loss community.
These challenges disproportionately affect older adults: In the U.S., almost 25% of people ages 65 to 74 and 50% of people ages 75 and over have what’s considered to be disabling hearing loss, and now Social Distancing and protective face coverings are making communication more challenging for those with even Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss. Since masks are an important way to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, and older adults are at higher risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 to begin with, finding strategies to hear better during times of widespread mask use is imperative.
Here are three of the mask-related obstacles that people with hearing loss can face, plus tips on how to overcome them.
1. Fewer facial cues to help decode conversations
Often, people with hearing loss try to compensate for any deficit by using facial cues to help them understand what others are saying.
That is because facial expressions are an important clue to the tone of a conversation, offering signals about the essence of what a person is trying to communicate. Are they being sarcastic, or are they serious? Something as simple as a smile can help a person with hearing loss fill in these gaps when they can’t hear every word. With masks covering noses and mouths, those facial cues are obscured.
2. An inability to rely on lip reading
In addition to using facial cues, some people who have hearing loss learn to rely on lip reading to understand their conversation partners. Even when they are doing it subconsciously and don’t realize it, lip reading can help discern and distinguish difficult words. Here, too, face masks prevent those with hearing loss from using this critical skill.
3. Muffled voices
As if covered faces did not present enough challenges visually, masks can often muffle people’s voices, too. Due to this phenomenon, people who already had trouble hearing before the pandemic are finding it more difficult than ever to hear well. Even people with early stage hearing loss may suddenly notice that they are struggling to understand speech more than usual.
Tips for overcoming mask-related hearing challenges
While the three types of hearing challenges above vary, many of the tips that can help people overcome them are the same. If you or someone you love is struggling to hear because of face masks, try the tips below:
. Get a hearing aid if you have hearing loss, and/or wear your hearing aid more often. If you’ve simply lived with hearing loss and haven’t sought out a hearing aid until now, you may find that now is the right time to consider getting one. Call any of our Hoglund Family Hearing and Audiology Centers and schedule a FREE HEARING TEST to learn whether a hearing aid might be right for you. If you already have hearing aids but don’t use them all the time, please begin wearing them more frequently! If they are not functioning properly, call for a FREE performance check! We are offering FREE WARRANTY REPAIRS on all manufacturers’ products whether you are one of our Patients or not, as a public service during these trying times!
. Ask family members to consider selecting masks that interfere with hearing the least. If muffled sounds are a major source of frustration for you, keep in mind that some masks block high-frequency speech sounds more than others, making it more difficult to hear the people wearing them — especially words that contain sounds like “f”, “s” and “th.” Hoglund Family Hearing and Audiology Centers clinics offer special masks that have a clear portion in the middle which makes it easier to read lips.
. Make sure the programming on your hearing aids is set to your current needs. Many people have not had their hearing aids adjusted since the Pandemic began back in February. Your hearing needs may have changed over time and a simple reprogramming session may dramatically improve your understanding. You may also find that wax related problems have caused your hearing aids to underperform. Please schedule a service appointment to see if we can help! Our Audiology Centers may also be able to set up an additional program in your hearing aids that offers a stronger “signal boost” when you are speaking to people wearing masks.
Hoglund Family Hearing And Audiology Center
Fifteen 8th Street, Suite B (Next to Royal Scoop Ice Cream)
Bonita Springs, FL 31434
239-494-8651
Southwest Florida Tinnitus And Hearing Center
10020 Coconut Rd. Ste.120 (Next to LabCorp)
Estero, FL 34135
239-494-8652
AUDIOLOGY CENTERS OF HOGLUND FAMILY HEARING
13710 Metropolis Ave.Suite 101
(One block west of Gulf Coast Hospital)
Fort Myers, FL 33912
239-208-6827
Hoglund Family Hearing And Audiology Center
1003 Del Prado Blvd South, Unit 204
(Towers Professional Building, Next to Downtowner Car Wash)
Cape Coral, FL 33990
239-558-3095
