Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why we need clear face masks

Harry Paul
Conditions
August 1, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

Have you noticed yourself straining to hear people wearing masks? Me too. Every interaction I have these days feels exhausting. I worry about how hard this will be in the busy ER, and especially for my colleagues and friends with trouble hearing. Even without such hearing difficulties, lip reading is a critical part of speech processing for everyone. This is why widespread access to transparent masks is so important for all of us.

As evidence for universal masking continues to mount, people all over are making plans and purchases for school and office reopenings. As a disabled medical student, I am passionate about making sure my patients don’t face barriers to medical care. I am disappointed that we still do not have access to, or widespread use of, transparent masks.

While lip reading is important for all of us, we should all care about wearing clear face masks so that deaf and hard of hearing (HOH) individuals in our lives can understand us and avoid exclusion from society and unequal access to medical care.

As a medical student, the close contact I have with patients necessitates more stringent protection. Epidemiologists and infection control officers are clear: it would not be safe or allowed for me to use a homemade clear mask when I begin seeing patients again in a few weeks. Yet if I have to wear an opaque mask, anyone who is hard of hearing (one in eight people, or 30 million Americans) will have difficulty understanding me. Masks should be easy to see through without sacrificing protection. Researchers, hospitals, and the CDC must work quickly to integrate accessibility into their guidelines. Clinical spaces have long struggled with accessibility, despite its importance, and this is just another example.

Clinics and hospitals are not the only places where the lack of transparent masks can cause damage. Critical services like grocery stores, post offices, and pharmacies have always been challenging for deaf/HOH individuals. Making transparent masks for themselves does not help—they need their physicians, grocery store cashiers, and pharmacists wearing them when they arrive. Since hearing loss is often an invisible disability, we likely do not know which of our patients, colleagues, or neighbors have difficulty hearing.

Disabled people like me are well-practiced in changing our environments to meet our needs. Since the world around us is frequently inaccessible, we carry step-stools, Lysol wipes, or anything else we need to function safely. When all else fails, we avoid places that are too difficult. What are deaf/HOH individuals supposed to do now? It is certainly impractical to hand out a clear mask to everyone you want to talk to. The few options are expensive and back-ordered.

Some may argue that COVID-19 is too pressing for us to design a new kind of mask. To be fair, many of us, myself included, will be worried about increasing the risk of transmission by using a clear face mask that hasn’t been vetted. Since most clear masks are made of impermeable plastic, it is difficult to decide where to put filtration material. I have faith that medicine can move mountains to solve these problems – just like in April. We shouldn’t have to decide between being allies to the Deaf/HOH community or wearing the most protective PPE. Engineers and infectious disease experts should work now to evaluate the evidence and create a mask that does both.

An accessible world is better for everyone, especially during a pandemic. Today, I urge you to ask your hospital to solve this problem and to write to your legislators demanding this be a tenet of the defense production act. Manufacturers and engineers should compete to design clear masks that are safe, cheap, and reusable. Public health officials, advocates, and hospital systems should advertise and provide them in bulk. When they are available commercially—we should buy and wear nothing else, no matter where we are.

Harry Paul is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Medical students are benched during the pandemic

August 1, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

A physician-parent’s thoughts on reopening schools

August 1, 2020 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Medical students are benched during the pandemic
Next Post >
A physician-parent’s thoughts on reopening schools

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Dirt masks and couples massages: My trauma bonds in medical school

    Micaela Stevenson
  • Should only infectious disease specialists be allowed to prescribe antibiotics?

    Craig Bowron, MD
  • The culture of perfection in medicine is a disease

    Andy Cruz, MD
  • Chronic disease is making medical education worse

    Jason J. Han, MD
  • Qualifying conditions for medical marijuana

    Patricia Frye
  • Settlements in the opioid cases need these non-negotiable conditions

    Rosanne Aulino, RN

More in Conditions

  • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

    Maire Daugharty, MD
  • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

    Callia Georgoulis
  • Healing beyond the surface: Why proper chronic wound care matters

    Alvin May, MD
  • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • What a childhood stroke taught me about the future of neurosurgery and the promise of vagus nerve stimulation

    William J. Bannon IV
  • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

    Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      GJ van Londen, MD | Meds
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Inside the heart of internal medicine: Why we stay

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • The quiet grief behind hospital walls

      Aaron Grubner, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • Bundled payments in Medicare: Will fixed pricing reshape surgery costs?

      AMA Committee on Economics and Quality in Medicine, Medical Student Section | Policy
    • How Project ECHO is fighting physician isolation and transforming medical education [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why clinical research is a powerful path for unmatched IMGs

      Dr. Khutaija Noor | Education

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 4 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      GJ van Londen, MD | Meds
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Inside the heart of internal medicine: Why we stay

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • The quiet grief behind hospital walls

      Aaron Grubner, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • Bundled payments in Medicare: Will fixed pricing reshape surgery costs?

      AMA Committee on Economics and Quality in Medicine, Medical Student Section | Policy
    • How Project ECHO is fighting physician isolation and transforming medical education [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why clinical research is a powerful path for unmatched IMGs

      Dr. Khutaija Noor | Education

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Why we need clear face masks
4 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...