Communication during the COVID-19 pandemic: the hearing-impaired perspective

Abstract

Objective

To understand the communicational and psychosocial effects of COVID-19 protective measures in real-life everyday communication settings.

Design

An online survey consisting of close-set and open-ended questions aimed to describe the communication difficulties experienced in different communication activities (in-person and telecommunication) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study sample

172 individuals with hearing loss and 130 who reported not having a hearing loss completed the study. They were recruited through social media, private audiology clinics, hospitals and monthly newsletters sent by the non-profit organisation “Audition Quebec.”

Results

Face masks were the most problematic protective measure for communication in 75–90% of participants. For all in-person communication activities, participants with hearing loss reported significantly more impact on communication than participants with normal hearing. They also exhibited more activity limitations and negative emotions associated with communication difficulties.

Conclusion

These results suggest that, in times of pandemic, individuals with hearing loss are more likely to exhibit communication breakdowns in their everyday activities. This may lead to social isolation and have a deleterious effect on their mental health. When interacting with individuals with hearing loss, communication strategies to optimise speech understanding should be used.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• face masks
• hearing loss
• telecommunication
• communication strategies
• lipreading

Ethics statement

The study was approved by the aging-neuroimaging research ethics committee of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (CER VN 20-21-16; 2020-07-22).

Informed consent statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Author contributions

Conceptualisation, A.P.S., M.H., A.S., R.C., J.P.G. and A.L.; methodology, A.P.S., M.H., A.S., J.P.G. and A.L.; formal analysis, A.P.S., L.C., and E.T.; investigation, A.P.S., L.C. and E.T.; writing—original draft preparation, A.P.S.; writing—review and editing, M.H., A.S., R.C., A.I.A., J.P.G., and A.L.; coordination, A.P.S.; project administration, M.H., A.L.; funding acquisition, A.L, M.H. and J.P.G. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, grant number 1008-2020-1016.