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Tips on Wearing a Mask With Hearing Aids

Shukri Abi • May 31, 2021

Wearing masks, as inconvenient as it is, has been proven to be one of the most effective defences against the transmission of Covid 19, and many other diseases. Whilst we are creeping closer towards target vaccination levels and ultimately, herd immunity there is still a way to go, which means masks will be a necessary evil in the months to come. 


For hearing aid wearers, masks present additional challenges beyond the normal discomfort factors. Depending on the style and design of the mask, the straps that secure the mask in place can cause a number of issues including:


  1. Difficulty in Securing Hearing Aids in Place
  2. Reduced hearing ability due to mask covering 
  3. Interferences With Microphones & Receivers
  4.  Additional Discomfort and Irritation Behind the Ears


Why is wearing masks harder for people who are hearing impaired?


People with hearing loss rely on many additional communication cues in order to best understand and interpret the people around them. Whilst most people can rely on their hearing alone to understand speech and conversation, those without perfect hearing naturally gravitate towards these cues, such as lip reading and facial expressions. Whilst there are transparent masks available there has been issues with fogging, by far the “standard mask” is made of opaque fabric, which prevents lip reading, and makes interpreting facial expressions much more difficult. 


In addition to this, face masks lower both the volume of a person’s speech and also reduce clarity of sound as speech is somewhat muffled by the mask itself. These factors together with “social distancing” make it very difficult for hard of hearing people to clearly understand speech, especially in noisy environments. 


Hints, Tips and Tricks for Wearing Masks and Hearing Aids Together


They say necessity is the mother of all inventions, and over the past year and a half we have seen some very innovative solutions to the problems hearing aid users experience when wearing masks. Our team has rounded up some great examples as well as other hints and tips from both our clients and the hearing impaired community around the world. 


Adjusting the Settings on Your Hearing Aid for Temporary Lockdowns


Most hearing aids have a wide range of settings and features that are designed to tailor the user's experience to their lifestyle and their specific type and level of hearing loss. If we expect to have our lifestyle altered for an extended period of time, your Audiologist is able to adjust your hearing aid settings to better perform in different settings, such as when face mask wearing becomes required in outdoor and indoor environments. 


In a lot of cases, you don’t need to attend your audiology clinic to have these changes implemented. A quick telehealth session is all that is needed to ensure your aids are optimised for mask wearing, which can hugely improve the performance of your device under changed conditions, such as snap lockdowns. This is achievable by setting up a second programme or profile for your hearing aids.  Also, these settings are just as easy to reverse as lockdowns lift and life returns to “normal”.


Mask Mode


A number of manufacturers, including Signia and Starkey, have stepped up during the pandemic and introduced “mask mode” to the standard settings on their hearing aids. This mode seeks to offset the reduction in noise and increase in muffling of spoken words to make it easier for people with hearing loss to understand communication through a mask. 


If you are unsure of whether your hearing aids have these features, feel free to reach out to our team of experts for advice. 


Altering How You Wear Your Mask to Improve Experience With Hearing Aids

Masks present the most challenges for people wearing BTE (Behind the Ear) Hearing Aids. Because the placement of the device is behind the ear, and most masks are also designed to be secured behind the ear, often the two can interfere with each other. 


We have seen some great examples from our clients on how they have solved this problem.



1. Securing Masks to Hair Pins


For people who are able to tie their hair back, using bobby pins as a point to secure your mask helps to keep the straps clear of your ears, and reduces interference with both the secureness of the aid as well as the microphone and receiver on your device.


2. Securing Masks to Hair Coverings


For people who wear hair coverings, following a similar concept to the above, but attaching a securing pin to your scarf will achieve the same result. This will also make it easier to take your mask on and off without having to disturb the placement of your scarf. 


3. Choosing Masks That Tie At The Back of the Head


For many hearing aid wearers, choosing masks that tie at the back of the neck, and top of the head provide a much more comfortable mask wearing experience and also keep the straps clear of BTE hearing aids. 


4. Fabric Tie / Strap Extender


This is one of our favourite ideas that we have shared with many patients who are unable to try the above methods. Fashioning a simple fabric tie, with buttons or Velcro to close allows you to extend the point where mask ties sit, meaning you can keep the straps away from behind your ears, and move it closer to the back of your head, reducing any interference with your device. 


How to communicate with someone with hearing loss when wearing a mask?


It is important to be mindful of how masks impact a person with hearing loss’s ability to understand what you are saying clearly. If you know the person you are talking to has hearing loss, or notice they are wearing hearing aids, consider some of the following ways to help them hear you clearly. 


  • Reduce the room's noise or move to a quieter location
  • Ask if the person can hear you 
  • Speak slowly and clearly 
  • Do not shout
  • If you're not understood, try to rephrase what you said with different words 
  • Make sure you are enunciating clearly
  • Take turns while speaking 
  • Do not talk while walking or looking away



Need Help?


We’d like to send our love and support to all of our Melbourne clients who are bravely facing another lockdown. The team at Abi Hearing are working hard to help our clients and community manage the difficulties this situation brings, especially for hearing aid wearers. 


If you are having any problems or challenges that you think we can help with, please reach out to arrange a tele-health appointment. Almost all of our services are available through telehealth, and we have the systems and technology in place to ensure we are able to provide you with leading service and support during this time. Stay strong, and wishing you all the best. 


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