Masks cause issues for hard of hearing

A profoundly deaf woman is calling on local businesses to look into rules around mask wearing, after she was unable to make store purchases due to staff refusing to remove their masks.

Murchison woman Christine Pointon was born profoundly deaf and learned to lip read at an young age.

With Covid-19 regulations making face coverings mandatory for all employees of customer-facing businesses, life has become much harder for Christine.

She has become frustrated with staff refusing to remove their masks despite regulations stating that workers can legally remove masks to enable communication with a person who is deaf or hard of hearing.

“It makes me feel very frustrated because I need to be able to lipread to do my transactions,” Christine says.

She says shop workers have been reluctant to remove masks and sometimes even refuse, so she has had to leave the store without making her purchase.

“I don’t know what anybody’s saying. It makes me want to become a hermit and not do much.”

Hearing Nelson field worker Lisa Dudley says she has seen many of her clients withdraw from interactions because it’s too hard.

“It’s quite disheartening and really sad.”

Lisa says shop managers need to be aware that it is allowed to take your mask off for those who are hearing impaired.

She has had her own mask made with a clear insert to allow people who are heard of hearing to lipread.

Christine has lived in Murchison most of her life and, as such, many businesses know her in the area and do not hesitate to remove their mask when she comes into their store.

However, on a recent trip to Richmond, she was unable to complete purchases and had to take her daughter to the supermarket to assist her at the checkouts.

“It was the first time I’ve been out of Murchison since mask wearing became mandatory and it was not a good experience. I felt I probably was not believed, and they had no understanding of deafness and the issues facing deaf.”

Christine would like to see one person and each shop wearing a clear face shield, which would enable her to understand the conversation.

She says she can get 90-95 per cent of a conversation by lip reading.

“If just one person in every shop had a clear mask, it would make such a difference.”

She has written an email to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield asking them to discuss the issue during their daily briefing but, so far, has not received a response.

Christine says she can’t lipread through the clear plastic shields that many businesses have installed and has to look around them, as the glare affects her ability to see lip movement.

Since her first shopping experience she has written her own sign which explains her situation and has had a better response from some businesses.

“With a blind person it is very obvious but with a deaf person it is not so obvious there is a handicap to communication.”