Short report on the effects of SARS-CoV-2 face protective equipment on verbal communication.
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
; 278(9): 3565-3570, 2021 Sep.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1384414
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To predict the impact of face personal protective equipment on verbal communication during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.DESIGN:
We assessed the effect of common types and combinations of face personal protective equipment on speech intelligibility in quiet and in a simulated noisy environment.RESULTS:
Wearing face personal protective equipment impairs transmission of middle-to-high voice frequencies and affects speech intelligibility. Surgical masks are responsible for up to 23.3% loss of speech intelligibility in noisy environments. The effects are larger in the condition of advanced face personal protective equipment, accounting for up to 69.0% reduction of speech intelligibility.CONCLUSION:
The use of face personal protective equipment causes significant verbal communication issues. Healthcare workers, school-aged children, and people affected by voice and hearing disorders may represent specific at-risk groups for impaired speech intelligibility.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Child
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol
Journal subject:
Otolaryngology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S00405-020-06535-1
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