The Difference A Choice Of Mask Can Make!

August 15, 2020.  These days I feel like I’m in a Charlie Brown animated film.  If you’ve ever seen one of the Charlie Brown specials, then you may recall that the children all speak in normal voices, but the voices of adults are all muffled.  Anything an adult says comes out as ‘mwah mwah’.  That’s how a person wearing a regular mask, speaking in a regular voice (remember the well-meaning ‘use your indoor voice’ that teachers drilled into you?) sounds like to me. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss2hULhXf04)

The other day I met with Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Wood of the South Shore Health & Wellness Clinic in Crapaud.  She is one of several volunteers in a trial sponsored by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Community Support Fund and The Community Foundation of PEI, in which medical professionals on the Island can try out disposable clear-window face masks.

Daria with Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Wood  who is wearing the disposable clear-window mask used in the trial with medical professionals.

When we first met, Nurse Practitioner Wood was wearing a mask that covered her mouth.  Her voice was muffled and I had difficulty comprehending what she said.  After putting on the clear-window mask, not only were her mouth and facial expressions visible, she was no longer muffled.  I could clearly understand what she said.

The goal of this trial is to assess if a clear-window mask leads to an improvement in communicating with a patient who has hearing loss. Many professionals, including Nurse Practitioner Wood, have explained that they have to “…lower their face mask as patients can’t hear them…”  This defeats the intent of wearing a mask in the first place!

Audiologist Dr. Janine Verge let me know about a study which noted that “…certain masks that are completely clear may actually degrade speech sounds more than cloth masks, masks with windows, or face shields……”  Given my own experience and that of several medical professionals, it seemed a bit odd that cloth masks that cover one’s face would score higher than a completely clear mask.  Our experiences have been mirrored by others around the world, as documented in several recent articles. (As an example, see https://www.popsci.com/story/health/clear-masks-options-accessibility/)

In taking a look at the study that Dr. Verge mentioned, it was done with participants who do NOT have hearing loss.  The study concluded by saying that “…study participants commented that they had to work harder to listen when the speaker was masked…”  No kidding! The study also acknowledged that it did not include people with hearing loss or people who need to see a person’s face clearly in order to speech read.  Would a study on wheelchair accessibility that only tested able-bodied people be good science?  I think not.  In my opinion the study should have been more inclusive.

Feedback by patients AND medical professionals will be invaluable in assessing the results of the disposable clear window mask trial.  Medical practitioners on Prince Edward Island are encouraged to volunteer for this trial so that as many Islanders as possible can try out the disposable clear-window face masks.  To volunteer, please email hearpei@gmail.com for more information, comment on the blog, or tweet to @HearPEI.

Thank you to Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Wood for volunteering to participate in this trial, and to Dr Janine Verge for letting me know about the face mask study.

Poll resuIn a previous posting about the participation of dentist Dr. Mike Connolly in the trial, (See: ‘Rising To The Challenge To Hear’ Now Supported By A Grant) readers were invited to participate in a poll about signage.  ALL respondents preferred the sign that simply asked people to let the clinic know that they wished to be seen with someone wearing a clear-window mask.  Thank you to all who participated.

© Daria Valkenburg