Council Post: How Masks Are Unmasking Hearing Loss Around The Globe

Co-Founder & Co-CEO of hear.com, the largest online retailer of hearing aids in the world. Driven to help people hear well to live well.

As the leader of global hearing aid company hear.com, I’ve had an interesting opportunity to see how Covid-19 has impacted different parts of the world this year — most notably in Europe and the U.S.

Wearing masks has made understanding speech difficult and muffles the sound of our voices. From asking the worker at the hardware store where the nails are to trying to place an order while dining on your favorite restaurant’s patio, communication has become challenging, to say the least. And now that people are starting to return to the office with mask recommendations still in place, masks have created a unique professional hurdle, too. But there’s no one more impacted by masks than those with hearing loss. 

Because masks interfere with communication, they’ve actually unveiled hearing loss in many people who weren’t even aware of it. According to research published by The Hearing Review, speech understanding is reduced for those with normal hearing by about four decibels (dB) for medical masks and close to 12 dB with N95 masks. Therefore, comprehension is lost almost completely for those who were already struggling to hear even before masks came into the picture.

This unexpected side effect of the pandemic has also started to positively impact our business. We experienced an uptick in hearing aid sales soon after masks became the norm in most places around the world. The largest increase has been in Europe, where mask culture is seemingly more accepted. While we’ve seen some increase in hearing aid purchases in the U.S., it’s not been as quick or fast as in other parts of the world. We do expect the number of people seeking hearing care to continue to increase as masks remain a suggested form of health protection.

Here are two common signs of hearing loss amplified by masks: 

Loss Of Speech Clarity

When people think of hearing loss, they often think it has to do with the volume of sound. But in fact, it’s an issue with speech clarity. When you’re listening to someone talking, the words may not come through very clearly and it may even sound like mumbling. For example, words like “mine,” “kind” and “mind” may not sound very different to you if you have hearing loss.

Difficulty Hearing In Noisy Environments

People discovering their hearing loss for the first time may notice difficulty hearing when they’re socializing in a group of people or if there is a lot of surrounding noise. They may also have a hard time recognizing where sound is actually coming from. Locating sound and being able to focus on hearing what’s most important becomes more difficult as hearing loss worsens.

But time has brought solutions. Today, hearing aids include speech-enhancing algorithms that help with clarity. Some device manufacturers even have a feature specifically designed to boost speech clarity with masks. It’s also easier to stay connected because many hearing aids now offer Bluetooth connectivity. Being able to stream sound directly into hearing aids has been a real game-changer for many. Now that hearing aids are earning a reputation for incredible technology, we’re seeing younger, more active people taking advantage of the benefits.

What You Can Do As A Business Leader

With people returning to the workplace and having to don masks in the office, when making deliveries and while interacting with customers, miscommunication can potentially impact your bottom line as well as employee mental health. Here’s what you can do to support your employees and your business:

1. Start a conversation with your employees about how masks may affect the ability to hear and understand in their daily interactions. 

2. Provide your team with communication suggestions to help deal with speed bumps. For example, it’s OK to let someone know you didn’t understand what they said with their mask on and to ask them to repeat what they said or to have them write it down. Don’t pretend you understood what was said if you didn’t, as that could lead to errors and delays in deliverables.

3. Educate all of your employees on the impact unaddressed hearing loss can have on their productivity, especially when masks are involved, and let them know there are solutions. This will help ensure your team stays productive and mentally healthy and that your business continues to run as smoothly as possible.

4. Look into health hearing benefits or insurance for your employees. Also, hearing aids are considered a “qualified medical expense,” which means they can be purchased tax-free with funds saved in health savings or flexible spending accounts.

If you think that you or someone you know may have hearing loss, the first step is to find a reputable company that understands your specific hearing loss and can guide you to the right audiologist or specialist for a hearing test. Once your degree of hearing loss is determined, you and your specialist can decide on the best course of action and the right solution. Treating hearing loss sooner rather than later is key to protecting our health and the hearing we have left for years to come.


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