How many of you have trouble hearing masked people?

[Guest]

I have had a couple of times during my trip in Washington state in which I had trouble hearing people who were talking through their masks. My partner "Chris" said he had no trouble understanding them. I was always frustrated by the stubbornness of some older people I knew who refused to wear hearing aids when they needed them, and promised myself never to be like them. I think I'll get my hearing tested when I get back. That being said, it only seems to be a problem with masked people. Of course, this could be the first sign of a significant hearing problem. Have you guys been having this problem as well?

[jeezifonly]

I do! And people have the same problem understanding what I’ve said. I ask them to please repeat and they do the same. 
No big deal. Minor inconvenience that does not really get in my way, and since I can only control my speech, I slow down and hit my consonants. 

[jjkrkwood]

YES, but not a reason NOT to wear the mask...  Anyway, most of what people say these days is NOT worth hearing.  😷

[thedanNYC]

8 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I have had a couple of times during my trip in Washington state in which I had trouble hearing people who were talking through their masks. My partner "Chris" said he had no trouble understanding them. I was always frustrated by the stubbornness of some older people I knew who refused to wear hearing aids when they needed them, and promised myself never to be like them. I think I'll get my hearing tested when I get back. That being said, it only seems to be a problem with masked people. Of course, this could be the first sign of a significant hearing problem. Have you guys been having this problem as well?

This might help:

 

[+ DynamicUno]

I've occasionally had a problem if someone was wearing a thicker cloth mask and they weren't annunciating clearly.  A simple "I'm sorry I couldn't hear you clearly, could you repeat that" was more than sufficient since the other person will usually talk a bit louder and more clearly after that.  

Edited July 20, 2021 by DynamicUno

[mike carey]

@Unicorneven when I was having frequent hearing tests and they suggested it was as good as it had ever been, I sometimes had difficulty hearing things in some settings. I have no idea what was going on there, but I suspect part of it is expecting not to be able to hear in some circumstances. Someone in a mask could be one of those. I haven't had any problem giving the person collecting contact tracing information at the supermarket entry my name and number (my phone can't do QR codes), or talking to other staff in shops, nor have I had any noticeable problems talking to people. I have to think that there is an element of expecting not to be able to hear someone in a mask rather than an actual problem.

[+ Charlie]

It's not just the physical hearing of the sounds that is the problem communicating with masks on. One also loses the signals that come from seeing the speaker's facial expressions, which help one to interpret their speech. (Did he really say that? Did I hear that right? What did he mean?)

[David1024]

Yes, I’ve had that problem several times. The worst was at the car rental desk in an airport. The lady serving me was wearing a mask behind a Perspex shield, while the customer at the next desk was yelling at the person serving her and I could t understand any of the questions I was being asked. I think my hearing is OK, but anyone with a serious hearing loss would be at a huge disadvantage. 

[Mjonis]

Yes, sometimes people speak softly and the mask muffles things a bit.

[topunderachiever]

There have been studies showing that somewhere between 20-30% of recognizing spoken words is actually lip reading.  

Edited July 20, 2021 by topunderachiever

[+ José Soplanucas]

14 hours ago, Unicorn said:

Have you guys been having this problem as well?

Oh yeah. I am slightly deaf, and listening is my weakest communicational skill (imagine!). I have problems conversing in Spanish with masks on, in English can be just hellish for me.

1 hour ago, topunderachiever said:

There have been studies showing that somewhere between 20-30% of recognizing spoken words is actually lip reading.  

Interesting.

[Kevin Slater]

1 hour ago, topunderachiever said:

There have been studies showing that somewhere between 20-30% of recognizing spoken words is actually lip reading.  

And that goes up as your hearing declines.  I hadn't realized it til my doctor pointed it out, but my hearing is better when I wear my glasses.

Kevin Slater

[+ Axiom2001]

I've had difficulty hearing others who've worn masks, and some have had difficulty in hearing me.  The only remedy for this is to repeat or to ask the speaker to repeat and/ or to speak slower and louder. 

Since hearing has been a problem for many mask wearers, I haven't given it a second or a third thought.  I've  pointed to my ear, and the speakers have projected.  I've also done as I've requested.

[+ MysticMenace]

haven't had much problem on this since I still don't go out much.

[+ José Soplanucas]

I just came from an annoying situation where I would not understand what a waitress was asking me in a coffee shop. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have to mask up for a very long time. 

[+ purplekow]

I  hear masked people and strangely enough I see dead people.   

[Guest]

On 7/20/2021 at 11:22 AM, topunderachiever said:

There have been studies showing that somewhere between 20-30% of recognizing spoken words is actually lip reading.  

I guess we could go for masks with clear plastic in front of the lips... 🙄

[Cure69]

Not me, I hear them just fine.

[Prime38]

All the time, I’m constantly asking people to repeat themselves, I’m starting to wonder if it’s the masks or senility finally setting in.

[+ José Soplanucas]

8 minutes ago, Prime38 said:

All the time, I’m constantly asking people to repeat themselves, I’m starting to wonder if it’s the masks or senility finally setting in.

In my case, all of the above.

[+ tassojunior]

people learn to speak a lot louder when wearing masks. many implications. 

[fedssocr1]

depends on the environment. If the place is loud otherwise it can definitely be an issue. And I find I have to repeat myself as well.

[+ sniper]

There's also a type of hearing impairment that doesn't show up on standard screenings that makes separating sounds out harder. If I'm in a noisy bar I pretty much give up on conversation and nod along. This has been true since I was young.

[rvwnsd]

On 7/22/2021 at 6:28 AM, sniper said:

There's also a type of hearing impairment that doesn't show up on standard screenings that makes separating sounds out harder. If I'm in a noisy bar I pretty much give up on conversation and nod along. This has been true since I was young.

I also suffer from this. When my hearing was tested years ago the audiologist mentioned that my hearing was nearly perfect. He went on to explain when we are babies our hearing is, for sake of discussion, a "10" and as we age it diminishes and we get better at honing in on specific sounds.

To answer @Unicorn's question, I find it hard to hear people who are wearing a mask when they don't enunciate and don't speak loudly when in a loud setting. Yesterday I was ordering lunch and could barely hear the person taking my order because she was talking quietly while the restaurant was crowded and noisy. The manager, who was also wearing a mask, raised his voice so he could be heard.

 

[+ RJD]

5 minutes ago, rvwnsd said:

I also suffer from this. When my hearing was tested years ago the audiologist mentioned that my hearing was nearly perfect. He went on to explain when we are babies our hearing is, for sake of discussion, a "10" and as we age it diminishes and we get better at honing in on specific sounds.

To answer @Unicorn's question, I find it hard to hear people who are wearing a mask when they don't enunciate and don't speak loudly when in a loud setting. Yesterday I was ordering lunch and could barely hear the person taking my order because she was talking quietly while the restaurant was crowded and noisy. The manager, who was also wearing a mask, raised his voice so he could be heard.

 

Same here.  I had my dog at the vet's office.  Everyone is still required to mask up, there's a plexiglass partition between the receptionist and client, she's facing away from me looking at her computer asking me questions in a normal speaking voice.  Add to that, everything is hard surfaced for cleaning purposes, so the sound of barking dogs echoed throughout the oiffice.  After the fourth time saying "excuse me" I finally suggested she speak up.