Communication barriers during the pandemic
Face masks with a communication window - a see through area at the mouth - so people who rely on lipreading can give informed consent to treatment and care and can communicate with those who are wearing masks. Surely in 2020, it is possible to design a mask that allows people to see the wearer's mouth.
Why the contribution is important
I believe that these are almost 1M people in Scotland who have a hearing loss and who lip read on a daily basis.
For people like me who are very hard of hearing and who uses aids supllemented by lip reading this crisis has been more isolating than for most. I cannot use a telephone as I can't hear. I cannot use Zoom as most of the time the other person's microphone is not powerful enough to project their voice at a level I need and there are no realt time speech to text programmes that are accurate and free.
I need to be able to see the person's lips to be able to "hear" what they are saying. I am lucky that I have not had to go to hospital. What would happen to my right to give informed consent if I cannot lip read the person who is speaking to me?
For people like me who are very hard of hearing and who uses aids supllemented by lip reading this crisis has been more isolating than for most. I cannot use a telephone as I can't hear. I cannot use Zoom as most of the time the other person's microphone is not powerful enough to project their voice at a level I need and there are no realt time speech to text programmes that are accurate and free.
I need to be able to see the person's lips to be able to "hear" what they are saying. I am lucky that I have not had to go to hospital. What would happen to my right to give informed consent if I cannot lip read the person who is speaking to me?
by MJanus on May 06, 2020 at 11:42AM
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