For most people, COVID- 19 created obstacles to communication and connecting with others. But for those with hearing impairments who read lips to understand a conversation, masks cut them off from the rest of the world.
Max Hawkins, a freshman business major, was born deaf and received cochlear implants at age one.
A common struggle for Hawkins is comprehending conversations he has with others. Although he can hear the conversation, it takes a bit longer for him to fully engage in the conversation.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, masks created a disconnect for people with hearing impairments.
“That’s probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced in my entire life. COVID-19 just blew things away,” Hawkins said. “It was a very heavy reliant to read lips and with masks you can’t see their lips.”
When Hawkins started at the university, he made sure to sit in the front of class to be able to hear better during lecture. The Student Disability Services also provided special technologies for professors who had students with hearing impairments.
“They would wear a special microphone or a mask with clear covering on it so I can see their mouths and read their lips,” Hawkins said. “I’ve definitely learned to adjust, so I don’t have to use those anymore. I just kind of just sit in the front more now and I just pray that they talk loud.”
After two years of wearing masks, Hawkins has learned how to rely less on lip reading and focused more on listening to the conversation.
Xavier Vazquez, adjunct professor and director/producer of marketing and communication, was diagnosed with tinnitus in his right ear when he got out of the military.
Tinnitus is the constant ringing or buzzing within the ear. Vazquez said that the only time he truly notices the ringing is when he is in complete silence.
He first realized the ringing one night when the power went out from a storm and realized his music that he normally played while sleeping was off.
“I said, ‘What is that? Where is that coming from?’ And then finally I start coming to and it’s like ‘Oh, it’s coming from inside my head,’” Vazquez said. “Then I started realizing now I know exactly what this is, I made an appointment at VA medical and sure enough they’re like textbook tinnitus.”
Once COVID-19 hit for Vazquez, he said the hardest thing for him was to decipher between accents.
“When COVID-19 first hit, I was in Los Angeles. When I had to come to the South, that’s when I started listening to y’all, but this is the first place I’ve ever actually heard the southern accent,” Vazquez said. “That’s when I just realized I was like, I don’t understand you. It’s a little upsetting because I have to say ‘Can you repeat yourself?’”
One request that Vazquez gave his students was to speak louder when asking questions.
“You’ll see me literally focus my entire body on a student asking a question. I try my hardest to zone in. Luckily, it just worked out this way: the students that I have in class really don’t have thicker accents,” Vazquez said.
In order to hear people to the fullest extent, Vazquez tends to lean towards the left to the person speaking.
Both Vazquez and Hawkins both said that it’s important for people to speak up when they are talking to a person with a hearing impairment.
In addition, when someone with a hearing impairment asks for the speaker to repeat themselves, patience is always encouraged.
“Everyone wears masks just for any blanket idea, no matter what it is, always assume there’s a portion of the population that’s probably going to be negatively affected,” Vazquez said.
