Hearing Loss Association of America | Boston Chapter
Serving Boston, Massachusetts and the surrounding area, our mission is to empower people who have hearing loss by facilitating opportunities for social engagement, education and skill development.
Accessibility is getting better in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH) has helped produce a series of accessible videos encouraging folks to wash hands, avoid groups etc.
Please see the ASL version of the new Mass.gov campaign on its Facebook page: Actions = Consequences:
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HLAA Virtual Meeting – A Conversation with Barbara Kelley Presented by HLAA California State Association |
| Join us for an inspiring and enlightening conversation with HLAA Executive Director Barbara Kelley about adapting during the coronavirus pandemic, communication opportunities, continued advocacy for our rights, the value of chapters and state associations, and moving forward. | |
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With the help of a $50,000 grant from the Boston Resiliency Fund, Boston Lyric Opera and its partners will soon start manufacturing transparent face masks tailored to the needs of those who are deaf or hard of hearing. These populations can feel excluded during the pandemic, due to the necessity of mask-wearing to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Traditional masks with cloth fabric come with some significant downsides,” said BLO Chief Operating Officer Bradley Vernatter in a phone interview. For starters, masks block lip movements and facial expressions — which are central to the way folks with deafness communicate.
“Through doing research, we found that there was not an easy supply for individuals to purchase these transparent masks,” Vernatter added. “This changes that.”
A bulk supply of BLO’s reusable transparent masks will be sent to local organizations, like DEAF, Inc., headquartered in Allston, and the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a state agency. Boston Lyric Opera will charge these organizations no more than 50 percent of each mask’s at-cost price of $25, Vernatter said. And a portion of masks will be set aside for donation.
As it turns out, the project benefits not only people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but
also the workers who make the masks. They’ll be crafted by five staff members at
Costume Works, the Somerville shop that clothes singers for BLO productions in normal
times. With live performance suspended indefinitely, shop workers can stay busy (and
stay employed) thanks to the grant-funded project.
Six months into the pandemic, skilled laborers like those at Costume Works are still
being redeployed into PPE production, Vernatter noted. “This is how they’re using their
expertise to provide the resources our community needs right now — and to stay afloat.”
Boston Lyric Opera’s director of production Jessica Johnson Brock modeled a mask manufactured especially for deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. COURTESY BLO.
With the help of a $50,000 grant from the Boston Resiliency Fund, Boston Lyric Opera and its partners will soon start manufacturing transparent face masks tailored to the needs of those who are deaf or hard of hearing. These populations can feel excluded during the pandemic, due to the necessity of mask-wearing to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Traditional masks with cloth fabric come with some significant downsides,” said BLO Chief Operating Officer Bradley Vernatter in a phone interview. For starters, masks block lip movements and facial expressions — which are central to the way folks with deafness communicate.
A bulk supply of BLO’s reusable transparent masks will be sent to local organizations, like DEAF, Inc., headquartered in Allston, and the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a state agency. Boston Lyric Opera will charge these organizations no more than 50 percent of each mask’s at-cost price of $25, Vernatter said. And a portion of masks will be set aside for donation.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Independent Living Services invites you to – Face Masks and Hearing Loss: Practical Tips and Strategies. It is a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 10:00 – 11:00 am. The speaker will be Carolyn Ginsburg Stern from the Center for Hearing and Communication.Communication is hard with a mask on and social distancing!
Join us for a webinar to learn some tips like:
• Demo: how to wear and take off masks comfortably with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
• Communication tips when wearing a mask.
• Easy/low cost apps and listening devices.
A Zoom Meeting
Communication is hard with a mask on and social distancing!
Join us for a webinar to learn some tips like:
• Demo: how to wear and take off masks comfortably with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
• Communication tips when wearing a mask.
• Easy/low cost apps and listening devices.
RSVP online at https://tinyurl.com/yxnq9y3z
On the register form you will be asked how you want to be contacted for the Zoom meeting ID.
or contact Denise Paro at: dparo@centerlw.org
or telephone 508-556-1600 (VP)
Click here to download the program flyer.
Sandy Unger is an American Sign Language (ASL) translator. A friend made her a clear mask and it helps Sandy in her translations in this masked, COVID-19 world. Sandy is offering the masks to you for a $10.00 donation. She is donating all the profits to Girls for Girls Uganda, an organization within ChildVoice that is assisting young women displaced by violence.
For more information on ChildVoice please visit https://childvoice.org. To give directly to Girls for Girls Uganda please visit https://secure.qgiv.com/event/girlsforgirlsuganda/
If you are interested in purchasing a clear mask and make the world a better place please contact Sandy Unger directly at unger.sandy@gmail.com.
ChildVoice – Girls for Girls Uganda
From: HLAA Central MA <hlaacentralma@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 10:48 AM
Subject: Collection of Information about Face Masks and Health Care Communication
To: HLAA Central MA <hlaacentralma@gmail.com>
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people with hearing loss are frustrated by masks and face coverings. Being able to lipread is critical to our communication, especially when navigating the healthcare system. HLAA CM has collected some information related to this topic to share.
Guide for Effective Communication in Health Care
HLAA has a website dedicated to this topic with resources on how to communicate with medical professionals, recommendations for medical facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and guides for patients and providers. The webpage is:
https://www.hearingloss.org/hearing-help/communities/patients/
You can download the complete the guide:
https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/HLAA_HC_Full_Guide.pdf
Hearing Review Article: Urge CDC to Emphasize Need for Clear Face Masks
The Hearing Review article from June 9, 2020 is titled “ASHA Urges CDC to Emphasize Need for Clear Face Masks for the Hearing Impaired.” You can read the article at:
The full ASHA letter can be found at:
https://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/ASHA-Letter-to-CDC-About-Face-Masks-060820.pdf
Hearing Life Article on See-Through Face Masks
The March/April 2020 edition of HLAA’s Hearing Life magazine includes an article about communication access showing a doctor wearing a see-through surgical mask. The article is titled, “Necessity and Invention: New Mom Turns Entrepreneur.” The subject of the article, Anne McIntosh, founded the Safe’N’Clear company in 2012 and created the “Communicator Surgical Mask.” The see-through medical masks were approved by the FDA and started being used in hospitals in 2017.
The Communicator (See-Through Surgical Mask)
You can read more about The Communicator mask at the company website:
The mask came up for discussion at one of the HLAA virtual meetings and someone complained that they were expensive. The cost was reported as $60 and later clarified to be for a box of 40. As you can imagine, the masks have become very popular now and are out of stock. The company is expecting to have more available in July.
HelloMasks (Transparent Face Mask)
Popular Mechanics ran an article on June 10, 2020 titled “These Transparent Face Masks Might Make You Feel Normal Again.” It describes a mask developed in Switzerland that is completely transparent. The company HMCARE plans to start selling the new masks in 2021 directly to medical professionals.
You can read the full article at:
The company is a start-up right now. It is planning to pursue European certification and eventually will pursue FDA approval. The company website is:
From HLAA Central Massachusetts Chapter:
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) have devised a transparent surgical face mask that will “soon be produced on an industrial scale.”
To fabricate them, researchers had to come up with an all-new polymer material. They say the ability to see facial expressions will lead to more empathic health care providers. [Full story]
What Nelson Mandela and Others Teach Us About Coping with the Coronavirus and Isolation
Presenter: Michael Harvey, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2020
NEW Time: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. Eastern Time
Don’t miss Tuesday’s free captioned webinar featuring Dr. Michael Harvey, a psychologist in private practice in Framingham, Massachusetts, who will be presenting What Nelson Mandela and Others Teach Us About Coping with the Coronavirus and Isolation.
People with hearing loss tend to feel isolated anyhow. Now with a pandemic forcing us to stay home, distance ourselves from others, the isolation goes deeper. This webinar will outline specific psychological strategies for coping with the coronavirus and isolation. Dr. Harvey will begin by enumerating how others have survived non-virus isolation: for example, Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned for 27 years and Anthony Ray Hinton who was on death row for 28 years for a murder he didn’t commit. Then he’ll dig into a host of specific emotional self-care tools to use while quarantined as well as how we can even realize some psychological benefits from this terrifying time.
This webinar will be recorded for playback.
RESOURCES
Should you have any questions, please contact webinars@hearingloss.org.