Transparent face masks help the deaf read lips and faces amid Covid-19, and help their teachers. They just need to be cheaper
- Regular face masks make it difficult for the 70 million people in the world who are deaf or hard of hearing to read people’s lips or see facial cues
- Transparent masks are becoming more popular, and users hope their price will come down as more wear them
Imagine being deaf and not being able to take your cues from a person speaking to you because a mask shields their mouth. That is why transparent face masks and shields, while costly compared with classic counterparts, could prove a boon for the deaf and hard of hearing in the coronavirus era.
The concept has started to take off, aided not least by YouTube tutorials or the likes of American football coach Nic Saban, who makes a point of wearing his to games.
Other proponents include the French secretary of state for people with disabilities Sophie Cluzel, who donned a mask with a see-through section to speak in parliament, and a sign-language interpreter at a hospital in Portsmouth, southern England.
As Cluzel pointed out, the transparent window facilitates communication by permitting lip-reading and showing facial expressions.
“Lip reading is a plus for me,” says Vivien Laplane, born deaf and author of the French blog Apprendre à écouter (Learn to listen). “You can imagine – or not – that with masks it’s tougher to understand others and make oneself understood.”