Impacts of face coverings on communication: an indirect impact of COVID-19.
Int J Audiol
; 60(7): 495-506, 2021 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-947618
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To understand the impact of face coverings on hearing and communication.DESIGN:
An online survey consisting of closed-set and open-ended questions distributed within the UK to gain insights into experiences of interactions involving face coverings, and of the impact of face coverings on communication. SAMPLE Four hundred and sixty members of the general public were recruited via snowball sampling. People with hearing loss were intentionally oversampled to more thoroughly assess the effect of face coverings in this group.RESULTS:
With few exceptions, participants reported that face coverings negatively impacted hearing, understanding, engagement, and feelings of connection with the speaker. Impacts were greatest when communicating in medical situations. People with hearing loss were significantly more impacted than those without hearing loss. Face coverings impacted communication content, interpersonal connectedness, and willingness to engage in conversation; they increased anxiety and stress, and made communication fatiguing, frustrating and embarrassing - both as a speaker wearing a face covering, and when listening to someone else who is wearing one.CONCLUSIONS:
Face coverings have far-reaching impacts on communication for everyone, but especially for people with hearing loss. These findings illustrate the need for communication-friendly face-coverings, and emphasise the need to be communication-aware when wearing a face covering.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Auditory Perception
/
Communication Barriers
/
Persons With Hearing Impairments
/
COVID-19
/
Hearing Disorders
/
Lipreading
/
Masks
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Audiol
Journal subject:
Audiology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
14992027.2020.1851401
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