Deaf people and charities express concerns about face masks

After the government’s announcement that it will become compulsory for face masks to be worn on public transport from 15th June, deaf people and deaf charities have been expressing their concerns about communication when it becomes impossible to lipread or pick up on facial expressions – or even to know that someone is speaking to you.

A group of Deaf professionals have just published an open letter expressing their concerns and advocating the use of transparent face masks.

Ian Noon, Head of Policy at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said:

“Nothing is more important than public health, but the use of face coverings on public transport will make life harder for the nine million deaf people across England. Almost all of them rely on lip-reading and visual cues to communicate and they could face months of misery and confusion as they travel. If people wore transparent face masks it would make a huge difference.”

Noon also expressed his hope that people would remember to be deaf aware: “simple deaf awareness tips like being patient, writing things down or using gestures if a deaf person needs you to will also have a big impact.”

In a blog called behind the face mask, regular Limping Chicken writer Carly Sygrove has written about the introduction of face masks in Spain. In her blog, she says:

The muffled sound that comes through a face mask, is never clear. Now, with the majority of people wearing face masks, lips and faces are no longer visible to read and I am completely unaided. I am guessing without a hint.

Her blog goes on to explain how a greengrocer ended up using gestures to help her understand that he was asking her how she would like to pay for her food, and expresses a hope that using face masks might even help more people to communicate visually.