July/August 2020

July/August 2020 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 37 A ccording to one British safety company, lip-readers are finding it hard to understand conversations, and that cuts them out of large parts of everyday life. With 466 million people around the world living with hearing loss, risk assessment software firm Protecting .co.uk is concerned about how face masks may impact people on a daily basis. The company’s spokesperson, Mark Hall, commented: “People who struggle to hear often rely on visual prompts such as lip reading to get by, but this is becoming a big challenge now that more people are wearing masks. “This means that a lot of people are left struggling to understand basic conversation, which could be very dangerous during a global health crisis.” Being deaf can feel isolating Over 12 million people in the UK are registered as deaf or suffer from some form of hearing loss, and many rely on facial expressions and lip reading to effectively communicate. However, this has become even difficult, especially as wearing a face mask has been mandatory on all public transport in England since the 15th June*, which includes all bus, train, tram, coach, Tube, ferry, and plane travel. “For those travelling on public transport, it’s causing a great deal of anxiety about not understanding everything that is being communicated to them,” explained Hall. He continued: “Many people get embarrassed and don’t want to be an inconvenience by repeatedly asking what you’re saying to them.” Hall highlighted how one hearing-impaired person told his company: “I rely a lot on lip patterns and expressions to understand sign language, but this has been impossible when people are wearing a mask. Being deaf can feel isolating when you have no way to understand what the people around you are saying.” But it’s not just the feeling of isolation that is a problem for those hard of Hard of hearing struggle with face masks Wearing a face mask has become a part of everyday life during the pandemic, but it’s posing communication problems for the hard of hearing. PWE reports. SPECIAL FOCUS Health& Safety: PPE