Masks

[Dementedswan]

How long do you think people will have to wear face masks? Has any guidance been issued on this or will they be scrapped in June?

[quote Racoonworld]@JaniieJones I think you're missing the point that previously deaf or hoh could shop and go on days out etc. without the need to take someone with or ask for special treatment from staff, and that independence has been taken away with mask wearing. That isn't really fair or proportionate long term.[/quote]
Thank you! You've said exactly how I feel. It's actually very demeaning to have to ask for help and to have your independence taken away is not

'I think you're missing the point that previously deaf or hoh could shop and go on days out etc. without the need to take someone with or ask for special treatment from staff,'

I'm not missing the point at all. It really isn't special treatment if a Deaf person needs assistance for a staff member to use a visor or briefly remove a face cover, it is a practical solution. Deaf people I know are well used to having to adapt and compromise they don't sit at home wailing it isn’t fair.

[quote Dementedswan]@JaniieJones what do they do about taking their children out? Cinema's, indoor play, swimming lessons etc.[/quote]
People seem to imagine that people who are deaf are all elderly or retired rather than all ages and walks of life. How funny (not haha) that a PP feels happy to explain to you what life as a deaf or hard of hearing person is like.

(Not that I think those who are elderly or retired should lose their independence and constantly require a carer - just that it is often a slightly more flexible lifestyle and with contacts who may be able to assist)

Gibraltar has vaccinated all of their adults and are still wearing them indoor, although no longer outdoor.. worth keeping an eye on what they do!

I absolutely loathe the things. Things will never be anywhere near 'normal' whilst masks are being used. I suffer anxiety which has become so much worse since they were introduced. I suffer panic attacks and hyperventilation syndrome sometimes in crowded places and supermarkets, so I haven't been in any shop or public place since last June. Its horrendous and spend most of the day in tears because of them and watching people getting on with their lives whilst wearing them. I am sick of people saying they are something we have all become used to . No, some of us haven't.

'People seem to imagine that people who are deaf are all elderly or retired rather than all ages and walks of life'

All the Deaf people I know have young families. I do get it, face covers make communication incredibly difficult if Deaf or hoh, but my original point is those out with Deaf people (socially! Not 'following them around') are exempt and as I've said shop staff are helpful if they are required to remove face covers briefly to assist.

Face covers weren't required in restaurants when they were open and let's face it there's not much lip reading possible when in a dark cinema..

@JaniieJones you realise that OP is deaf, and that is not their experience? I don't think OP is sitting at home wailing it's unfair, just wondering how they are supposed to go about daily life doing things they were previously able to do once things open up if masks stay. I don't think having to take someone with every time is reasonable.

@Bordois my point is that it isn't the same as wearing one for a shopping trip and ripping it off asap.

I think we'll be on track to ditch the masks on the 21st June. But I'm an optimist!

But if a high proportion of adults are vaccinated by then, and hospitalizations are low why would we need them?

I think we should continue to wear them in crowded indoor spaces in the winter. Helps prevent flu and colds spread. Shouldn't be a legal requirement, but advisable and "nudged".

Masks impair communication even if you've got normal hearing. I'm talking about the non-verbal stuff. I wear one all day at work and struggle sometimes to tell if people are joking or not. Also hard to tell if someone is happy/sad etc - you just miss stuff. I find it exhausting.

Has some benefits, though - I don't get recognised outside of work much anymore - quite like the anonymity.

I did not 'choose' to be in a mask-wearing occupation. Would quite like a career change, but jobs seem to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment. Seems they'll be with us for a while....

@puffinkoala

I think we should continue to wear them in crowded indoor spaces in the winter. Helps prevent flu and colds spread. Shouldn't be a legal requirement, but advisable and "nudged".

No, we’ve had enough vigilantism already over the rags and other restrictions

@puffinkoala

I think we should continue to wear them in crowded indoor spaces in the winter. Helps prevent flu and colds spread. Shouldn't be a legal requirement, but advisable and "nudged".

Every year form now on? I certainly won't be doing that.

Re what are other countries doing?

Multiple US States, not just Florida and Texas, have already removed mask mandates although they are still mostly there as voluntary recommendations.

@Dementedswan

I can see why they may stay. However as a deaf person who relies on lip reading, I need them gone so I can join in with society.

I cant be the only one struggling with them. I don't mind wearing them, I just cannot communicate. With things opening up I simply won't be able to join in.

I struggle too. I am partially deaf and I really struggle not being able to lip-read.

I cannot abide mask wearing.

@JaniieJones

'How is it OK to exclude all those people from society?'

If someone is Deaf then a friend or relative is exempt from mask wearing. The only exemption I support. Of course that means Deaf people lose their independence but at least if out in public they are able to have someone with them to interpret which many actually do anyway.

Also, shops are very helpful if they know someone relies on lip reading they will remove masks and use visors.

The only exemption you support? So you don't support those of us with neurological conditions which are triggered by touch to the face (which in my case translates as attacks so painful I lose consciousness and wet myself)? Or those living with PTSD as a result of rape/DV? Or those with sensory issues, or autism, or any number of hidden disabilities/health conditions for whom wearing a mask is impossible?

Exemptions exist for a reason and one isn't more 'deserving' than another. Just support them all and don't judge.

@puffinkoala

I think we should continue to wear them in crowded indoor spaces in the winter. Helps prevent flu and colds spread. Shouldn't be a legal requirement, but advisable and "nudged".

Absolutely not. No more nudging or coercion or shaming thanks.

@puffinkoala

I think we should continue to wear them in crowded indoor spaces in the winter. Helps prevent flu and colds spread. Shouldn't be a legal requirement, but advisable and "nudged".

I don't think reducing colds and flu in any way trumps inclusion for people with sensory impairments / social communication disorders or developing speech and language.

Incidentally, I've noticed a definite change lately with regards to attitudes to me not wearing a mask. I've mentioned on here many times that I haven't been able to go out without getting at least a comment, but I've also been shouted at, threatened, spat at and been told I'm a filthy disease-breath tramp. In the last few weeks however it's been much better. I don't know whether it's coincidence, or that people are either less fearful because of vaccines or just have had enough, but I've had hardly any comments and on fact people have been chatting to me in shops and on the bus like they used to before covid. It's been lovely.

[quote Sparklingbrook]@Bordois my point is that it isn't the same as wearing one for a shopping trip and ripping it off asap.[/quote]
No its not. So why the comparison?

Although, (and you may need to sit down for this) people who have to wear masks for work have been known rip them off ASAP as well 🤫

@TheVampiresWife I think a lot more people are out and about and less scared of covid now numbers are down and people are having vaccines. I've noticed a big shift in people's attitudes to everything now that lockdown is easing.

I am another deaf person struggling massively with the loss of independence.

Despite there being millions of deaf/hearing impaired people in the UK, our communication needs are not being met.

I haven't been able to go out alone for the past 13 months due to communication barriers from masks. The anxiety provoked when being approached by 'faceless' people is immense.

I've had to attend numerous hospital appointments during the past year and at a few of the appointments, staff tried to block my DH from coming into the hospital with me, despite being informed beforehand of my deafness/need for him to be with me.

Deafness isolates us from people and the pandemic has made the isolation a million times worse.

I can't wait to see the end of mask wearing.

I'm the person who is ripping it off my face the very second I emerge from the shops

I do the same. Unless two shops are next door to each other my mask comes off between shops, I can't bear it for any longer than necessary

I don't think deaf people's experiences are as easy as has been made out. My mother is severely profoundly deaf, so one step from total hearing loss. She now cannot go out alone and it has curtailed her independence massively. When masks first became mandatory she asked shop assistants to lower masks, more than most refused. So now someone must accompany her. Now if she asks people to lower masks they instead turn to speak to whoever is with her and talk around her as if she isn't a person in her own right.

I came with her for her first vaccine and despite being told on the letter she could be accompanied I was asked to leave 4 separate times by different staff as I wasn't being vaccinated myself. Obviously I refused, and explained the situation. Deafness is often an invisible disability.

When she was injected the nurse thankfully put on a visor but my mother was still unable to understand her as even visors muffle sound. I ended up having to write the questions down to be sure she had understood. If I hadn't stood my ground she would have been in a very difficult situation.