I’m Sorry, Can You Repeat That?
The arrival, and the lingering, of Covid-19 has done a number on us all. The concern for our health, angst over the personal decision to vaccinate oneself, the social distancing, the cancelled or altered plans…THE MASKING!
For myself, the ubiquitous masking has been one of the most frustrating aspects of this pandemic. I miss people’s smiles, smirks, and even their frowns. In my physical therapy practice, treating masked patients, while being masked myself, has weakened my ability to both “read” my patients’ response to treatment (by intently watching their faces for unspoken cues) and to establish rapport with new clients.
All that said, I discovered there is an even greater masking difficulty which has emerged for a group of people who needed to see people’s mouths—the hearing impaired. Hearing loss is so subtle at the onset that a person is often unaware of their own deficit. To remain engaged in conversations, these folks begin relying on lip reading, and they become quite good at it! This practice can go on for years, all while they remain clueless to the fact that their hearing abilities are waning.
Formerly, I identified hearing deficits in my patients when suddenly were unable to hear what I was saying if I briefly turned away from them. Now, it quickly becomes evident even when I am facing those patients who have less-than-optimal hearing. With my lip-hiding, N-95 mask in place, I find I must speak more slowly with my voice raised, and often must repeat myself in order for them to follow along with me in conversation. It’s after a session of this that I counsel them to please, please, do themselves a huge favor and make an appointment with an audiologist for a hearing check.
Masks aside, if you find yourself asking people to repeat things often, get yelled at to turn down the volume of your television or radio, and find you are misunderstanding or simply missing things in conversations you’ve had, then I extend this same counsel to you: Go have your hearing checked!
Besides rejoining (with accuracy) the conversations happening around you, by correcting your hearing loss, studies show you will also ward off dementia—now if THAT ain’t a motivator, I don’t know what is!
Happy hearing, eh?