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Life's got harder for those with a hearing loss...

The current safety precautions of wearing face masks, now compulsory on public transport in England, and the use of safety screens may be a welcome sight and sound advice for many.   For those with hearing problems this can come with unseen issues. 


Covering the face reduces the ability to communicate and disadvantages those with loss of hearing; muffling speech, preventing lip reading, obscuring facial expressions, and forcing conversations to happen at a distance.  Whilst safety screens can act as a sound barrier.

 

To help raise awareness of the increased communication challenges, Hidden Hearing is  distributing a free ‘Please Speak Up’ badge to members of the public so they can be better understood, a set of tips to aid communication and have a series of videos with some simple sign gestures everyone can use.  

The aim is to help individuals and businesses with staff in public facing roles to help better understand and support those who may be having increased difficulty during these times. 

 

How Best To Communicate Whilst A Face Mask

Wearing a face mask can muffle speech and make communication even harder for those who are hard of hearing. Hear Charlie Raine shares advice on how best to communicate through a face mask for our Please Speak Up campaign.

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What can you do to help?

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    Make sure you are facing the person you are talking to 

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    Recognise that your mouth cannot be seen, so smile with your eyes 

     
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    Remember to speak extra clearly and be patient

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     Try to use hand gestures to explain yourself or clearly signal you can’t hear or understand

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    You might need to write things down

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    Wear a badge so it's clear to others

To order a free ‘Please Speak Up’ badge email info@hiddenhearing.co.uk

(posted out at no charge).

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Katie - Hairdresser from Kent with a hearing loss

"I’ve ordered a free badge from Hidden Hearing which will act as a little reminder to my clients that they may need to repeat things, speak more clearly and use gestures a little more than usual as I won’t be able to lipread while they’re wearing a mask.” 

To request a free badge, email info@hiddenhearing.co.uk.  
To download our ‘Top Tips to communicating during Covid-19’ poster, click here.

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