Try to stand facing a person with hearing impairment as many people rely on being able to lip read.
During COVID pandemic, masks were mandatory in healthcare settings and some who relied on lip reading were unable to understand information provided verbally to them. Although plastic full face visors and some transparent mouth/nose masks were designed to alleviate these problems, disposable masks were ‘the norm’ in most settings. Now mask wearing is more a matter of choice, if you are aware of a person having a hearing impairment you should point at your mask and ask if they prefer you remove it.
The same scenario also applies during healthcare consultations when many poeple with hearing impairments find it difficult to lipread if a healthcare professional has turned sideways to enter information on the computer and isn’t directly facing them.
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