Overcoming Communication Barriers During COVID-19

By: Mary Rosbach, Tourism Supervisor, City of Aiken PRT

For those with hearing impairments, communication can be difficult. During a pandemic, where individuals are wearing face coverings, communication becomes nearly impossible for lip readers, and few people know sign language. Medical appointments, going through the drive-thru of a restaurant, and daily work interactions can become overwhelming. Sheri Clemons, Tourism Coordinator with the City of Aiken PRT Department, has experienced these challenges. After another staff member shared a reminder regarding communicating with the hearing impaired during COVID-19, it opened our eyes to what Sheri was experiencing. We knew we needed to do something in order to make Sheri feel more at ease and still be able to communicate with us. Upon inquiring, we found a local provider who could produce clear masks and get them to us as quickly as possible. To top it off, they were free! It was quite moving to see that someone in our community

understood the struggles of the hearing impaired during this pandemic. We received the masks within the next week and immediately began using them. Sheri can now read our lips and has no trouble communicating with us. She even carries with her a few extras in case she needs to meet with someone outside of our office she can provide them with one. It’s easy for those of us without a hearing impairment to forget or not realize what others may be going through. We need to be mindful of our body language and be patient by not raising our voices or sighing loudly in frustration. If someone with a hearing impairment asks you to remove your mask in order to better communicate, you can still safely do so by social distancing yourself. Sheri says it’s been life changing these past few months. “With my hearing loss, I rely on visual cues to understand what people are saying. When the mask ordinance mandate was put in place, I no longer had those visual cues to carry on a conversation. Lips were covered. Those visual cues were gone! My world felt extremely silent, and everything turned upside down over night. I have literally been lip reading since birth, and I knew I was about to face big challenges in today’s world and on the job. Thanks for the help of my supervisor, she was able to reverse my world back to the way it was. The use of clear masks eases communication difficulties in meetings and when doing business with my colleagues.”

It’s easy for those of us without a hearing impairment to forget or not realize what others may be going through. We need to be mindful of our body language and be patient by not raising our voices or sighing loudly in frustration.