Post AcFTO3aTBl9bPj4Lku by ignova@mstdn.ca
 (DIR) More posts by ignova@mstdn.ca
 (DIR) Post #AcFTO0RUsfC5f1qdqy by ignova@mstdn.ca
       2023-11-27T20:52:36Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       a public health / accessibility dilemma that is unfortunately not going away anytime soon is the fact that face masks can significantly hamper communication, with the biggest impact experienced by the Deaf and hard of hearing. one proposed compromise between protection and audibility is face masks with a transparent window that allows for visual cues that aid in lipreading. unfortunately these masks also have some of the worst effects re: speech attenuation (muffling). 1/ https://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/fulltext/2021/01000/comparison_of_the_acoustic_effects_of_face_masks.11.aspx
       
 (DIR) Post #AcFTO3aTBl9bPj4Lku by ignova@mstdn.ca
       2023-11-27T20:58:51Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       going by acoustics alone, the best masks are regular surgical masks; your next best bet would be the KN95. regular N95s perform slightly worse than the KN95 but are not terrible, compared to some of the other choices.where things get interesting is that the visual cues provided by the window mask provide a clear advantage in terms of speech understanding, even for those with normal hearing--but *only* when you are comparing apples to apples re: the acoustics. 2/ https://journals.lww.com/ear-hearing/fulltext/2021/07000/communicating_during_covid_19__the_effect_of.3.aspx
       
 (DIR) Post #AcFTO5I6qzeihMUiPo by ignova@mstdn.ca
       2023-11-27T21:04:03Z
       
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       in other words, the study that found this was solely concerned with the impact of visual cues, so they used a type of mask that could be tested with its window either covered or uncovered--they didn't test using different types of mask, such as KN95 vs window mask. 3/
       
 (DIR) Post #AcFTO73IJ2ze9zZubI by ignova@mstdn.ca
       2023-11-27T21:12:05Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       this all means that the best mask to use will vary by the situation. if you want the best compromise between audibility and protection overall, i recommend the KN95. but, the noisier the environment, and / or the more severe a person's hearing loss is, the more important visual cues will be for effective communication. in that situation you'll have to decide what is more important: the improved communication possible with a 'window' mask, or the superior protection of a KN95. 4/
       
 (DIR) Post #AcFTO8ggE65nER0sd6 by ignova@mstdn.ca
       2023-11-27T21:21:30Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       in healthcare settings this decision is less straightforward than it sounds. we want to protect vulnerable people from covid. but hearing difficulty is significantly correlated with poorer patient health outcomes for various reasons, one of them being that difficulty understanding a HCW means that you're more likely to make a medication error or misinterpret your HCW's instructions. it will come down to a judgement call per situation. 5/5
       
 (DIR) Post #AcFTUZV7RmvK87fmVM by jeffcliff@shitposter.club
       2023-11-28T00:33:44.947639Z
       
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       this is an argument for getting rid of covid from our communities so we can get back to a deaf-accessible healthcareor alternatively, having extra capacity so we can dedicate special resources for those hard of hearing