Face Coverings and Hearing Loss

Tips for wearing a face covering if you use hearing aids or a cochlear implant

• Face coverings that tie around your head rather than loop over your ears will help keep your aids secure.
• If your mask has loops, try a mask extender which you use to link the straps at the back of your head rather than around your ears. Call us if you want to try one, we can post one out to you.
• Try to only remove your face covering when you are in a place where your hearing aid could be easily found if it does falls out.

Tips on communicating through masks for people with hearing loss.

• Ask them to speak clearly
• Ask them to repeat or phrase things differently if you do not understand
• Reduce background noise as much as possible by moving to a quieter space if possible
• Use assistive devices like remote microphones with hearing aids to improve the quality of speech over background noise.
• Write things down. Pen or paper or talk to text Apps such as Live Transcribe.

Safe working is of paramount importance to us. We are guided by the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists and follow their in-depth protocols and recommendations on safe working. We have plenty of PPE, strict cleaning schedules and a variety of checks to ensure the continued safety of staff and clients at Lakeland Hearing. We welcome you to our clinics but if you feel you would rather a telephone or video consultation please let us know and we can arrange to speak to you in a way that ensures your safety and comfort.