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Costume designer and maker Tracey Nuthall decided to use her skills to assist deaf and hard of hearing Australians with masks. (Source: Supplied.)

Masks became mandatory in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire this week. But for some Australians, they can be a barrier to essential communication.

A 2016 report showed one in 10 Australians were affected by complete or partial deafness.

It is this community that Tracey Nuthall is hoping to assist. The costume designer says she was inspired by her father, himself affected by hearing loss, to come up with a face mask option that includes a see-through panel for lip-reading.

“The audiologist was wearing one of these masks, and [my father] came back and said, ‘this is amazing, you’ve got to make one.'”

By that evening, Ms Nuthall had researched and sampled her design: three layers, elastic, complete with a clear plastic panel.

Tracey says her father’s experience at the audiologist inspired her to make a unique style of mask. (Supplied.)

“I thought, I’m onto a winner here, it’s a great concept.”

Like many Australians, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on Tracey’s work for the year. When projects fell through, she switched to sewing scrubs, then more traditional masks, to now these new options.

For now, she is producing small amounts by hand — but says she is able to scale up, if the demand requires it.

“If I have many orders, I’d be very happy, because I know a lot of people would benefit from those masks.”

Ensuring all Australians have access to COVID-19 information

Deaf Australia CEO Kyle Miers told The Drum the coronavirus pandemic had put a spotlight on the communication needs of deaf Australians.

Interpreters are now present at nearly every major update press conference.

“What’s constantly highlighted is that we can rely on captions. But if you’ve got live captions, there’s often many mistakes that are made. It really affects the accuracy.”

Auslan interpreters have been an essential part of COVID-19 communications in recent months. (ABC News)

When it comes to masks, Mr Miers says it is important to recognise the specific implications for two distinct groups: deaf, and hard of hearing.

“Their communication needs, accordingly, are very different,” he said.

For the deaf community, who use sign language, facial expression is a key element of communication — alongside the signs themselves, and body language.

“Facial expression is the way our language expresses tone or intonation. I can determine whether someone is angry, whether they’re concerned — it’s all shown on the face.”

“If you have a mask on, the tone of the language therefore disappears, because you can’t so easily see the facial expression.”

The second group, considered hard of hearing, include people such as older Australians who may have lost hearing, or young people who might be deaf but have not grown up with Auslan.

Mr Miers says people in this community rely on lip reading and facial expressions to converse and understand.

“To have that covered, how can they communicate? It creates a barrier.”

COVID-19 pandemic prompting a push in innovation

Across the globe, there have been a number of people seeking out innovations for the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

Kyle Miers welcomes a clear mask idea, like the one Tracey has designed, but says there are a few points to consider when it comes to their effectiveness.

Deaf Australia CEO Kyle Miers says the pandemic has highlighted the communication needs of deaf and hard of hearing Australians. (Supplied.)

“It’s certainly a valid option for medical areas, or a hospital, but I think what we need to ensure is that everybody has the clear mask — I don’t know how that would really work.”

He also mentions the potential for the masks to fog up — something Tracey says she is currently brainstorming how to address.

Whichever option you lean towards, Kyle Miers notes one very important thing: that you first ask the deaf or hard of hearing person how they wish to communicate.

“You just need to adapt to the communication need, rather than forcing the other person to engage with you in your preferred fashion,” he told The Drum.

He says it is important to ensure that the deaf or hard of hearing person has choice in what type of communication is used.

“Deaf people have to be very creative with how they communicate, and how they work out the various complexities that they encounter. It would be lovely if we didn’t have to worry about all of that.”

The Drum airs weeknights on ABC and News Channel.

Games developer Tyler Glaiel revealed his idea of an ‘LED mask’, that mimics the movement of the mouth with small lights on the material, which move with different expressions.

Tyler Glaiel

@TylerGlaiel

7:41 AM · May 26, 2020
55.3K 13.6K people are Tweeting about this

If you have got some lights and batteries lying around (and are comfortable using a soldering kit), Mr Glaiel has shared the instructions to DIY one at home. He is also apparently in talks to manufacture and sell the products too.

Alternatively, both Apple and Android have their own versions of a speech-to-text app for phones.
“I think that’s a good option for many people, but it’s only one-way communication,” says Kyle Miers. He notes that for many who use Auslan as their first language, they may not be comfortable speaking.

In addition, there are logistical barriers; such as the cost of the apps themselves, and whether they require wifi to work.