Voice Quality with Face Masks and Hearing Impairment

What Can Be Done for Those with Hearing Impairment Under the Current Circumstances

types of masks used for protection against COVID-19
To protect themselves from the Corona virus, medical staff use a variety of face masks.

We all know that speaking with a protective mask changes our voices,  making them less intelligible. Taking into account that the people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and most likely to suffer from hearing loss are the elderly, we realized that communication with medical staff wearing protective masks is especially difficult for this population.

We set about testing the affects of different mask types on speech intelligibility. To listen to the differences yourself, download the presentation below, which was used as the basis for the data presented in this article published recently in the Hearing Review.

Download the full presentation including sound examples.

cloud icon for downloads

Hearing Well is Essential for Overall Well-Being

BeHear ACCESS assistive hearing headset with telecoil and charging cradle
Example of a Wear & Hear product: the BeHear ACCESS neck loop style with charging cradle and T-coil support.

We at Alango Technologies believe that hearing well is essential for quality of life. As a result, we have designed, developed, and manufactured the Wear & Hear line of personalized hearing products. These non-medical devices are self-tunable, affordable, fashionable, and multi-functional. Intended for those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, they enhance hearing in all environments: in-person conversations, sounds in nature, mobile phone speech, TV watching, music streaming, etc.

We are continually striving to find new ways to enhance communication, especially for those with hearing loss. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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