Science Behind Repeating Yourself While Wearing a Mask
How many times do you have to ask someone to repeat themselves with a mask on? And how many times have you seen someone pull their mask down to speak in public, instilling fear in the person next to them? It’s a unique time for everyone. Anyone that’s had to order food at a counter, with plexi-glass between staff and customers, and sizzling food/music coming from (Cava’s) speakers understands… our auditory system and attention really gets tested in public now.
When we have our masks on; the audibility and clarity of speech is impacted, and being 6 feet away from others doesn’t help. But there’s obviously a reason behind why we wear them;
“Let's consider a little primer on virology and the policies necessary to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The unique characteristic of this virus is the route of transmission via small droplets ejected from the mouth. The droplets are expelled when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, or speaks. Interestingly, speaking actually produces more droplets than does coughing (Chao et al., 2009), and louder speech creates a relatively larger quantity of droplets than does softer speech (Anfinrud, Bax, Stadnytski, & Bax, 2020). When a person speaks, he or she releases nearly 200 viral particles per minute! Thus, it would take five minutes of speaking face to face to receive the dose of particles to readily infect a conversation partner.” (Dr. Barbara Weinstein, PhD)
Now with Applied Speech Acoustics: For every doubling of the distance from the sound source in a free field situation, the sound intensity will diminish by 6 decibels.
“Smply” put: sound diminishes by approximately 6 dB for each doubling of distance.
For example: if you are 2' away from someone who is speaking and move to 4' away, the person's voice will be reduced by 6 dB.
So, health care providers' communication with patients, restaurant staff, daycare staff... will be negatively impacted because of both the social distancing and masking requirements.
The other factor is that the mask reduces airflow. Typically, when we can’t hear someone, we compensate; as I typically do… we read lips. Impossible to do with the masks. Also, low-frequency vowel sounds are easiest to hear because they are higher in intensity. Consonant sounds are higher in frequency and lower in intensity, and so they are more difficult to identify. So, the consonant sounds which are both weak in intensity and high in frequency are difficult to hear (e.g. /p/), especially without the visual cue of lip reading.
Basically; there’s a science to why we can’t hear each other with our masks on, we’re all just adapting to the times. There’s also this available; The Communicator TM Surgical Mask with a Clear Window (Model FM86000) manufactured by Safe N’Clear is a patented FDA registered device that meets ASTM F2100 Level 1 protection surgical mask standards. https://safenclear.com/product/the-communicator-surgical-mask-with-a-clear-window/
Tips for Families and those working with children:
https://www.aota.org/~/media/Corporate/Files/Practice/back-to-school/Tips-for-Families.pdf
https://www.aota.org/~/media/Corporate/Files/Practice/back-to-school/Masks-and-Facial-Coverings.pdf
For more information, schedule a free consult with our team!
How to Help Your Little One Wear Masks During COVID-19
Wearing masks has quickly become a norm in today’s world due to COVID-19, this may feel odd for adults, and especially the little ones. Facial masks are not required for children under 2 years old, but that leaves a good amount of kiddos that may not understand how to adapt and feel comfortable with their mask. Here are a few things to consider when preparing for the necessary food shopping, or errand;
There are a few reasons your child may have difficulty wearing the mask
Anxiety - the sensation of airflow is different and may feel like they are suffocating. This is tricky because masks that protect your child will have a thicker threshold for them to breathe into.
Sensory processing - the feeling of the mask on their face and ears may cause discomfort.
Visual input - If your child wears glasses, they may fog up, and the mask reduces the visual field for looking down.
Smell - I think we’re all a little more conscious of our breath when it’s our only source of air.
Here are some tips
To address the anxiety I would recommend a social story (example provided at the end of the article)
Show pictures with family and friends with masks
Talk calmly but directly about the importance of the mask prior to outing
Play with a stuffed animal and have them putting the mask on them
You may use a visual timer at home to increase time with mask on
Don’t force the mask!
Brush teeth before leaving the house, or have a mouth freshener handy
If your child wears glasses, he may benefit from putting a piece of tissue between bridge of nose and mask to reduce fogging up
If you’re handy with sewing, you can sew buttons on a hat or headband as a secondary option to looping at the ears. Some are available online.
When picking a mask for your child- opt for a soft (possibly cotton) fabric, allow them to choose the fabric if available.
Add the mask to a costume! Make it fun with a halloween costume you might have handy and wear other parts of the costume. Maybe even add a piece of candy for a temporary spring halloween.
Some kids may be adverse to smells, but you can try adding a calming essential oil to a small piece of cloth to place inside the mask
Use of a fidget may help to keep hands busy and redirect focus on something else
For those with medical conditions like Epilepsy, seeing changes in facial expression is essential for distinctive pre-seizure facial expressions. For those children they may be medically exempt by a physician. There are also some masks sold with clear sections at the mouth if that is what their parents prefer.
For those on the Autism Spectrum or with Sensory Processing Disorders, children may have an especially difficult time with masks. This is due to increased sensitivities for the way their body processes clothes and new experiences. The important thing is to not force the mask, try some of the tips above to help transition, start with the social story, have them play with a stuffed animal to put the mask on them.
Social Story by Autism Little Learners- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B2FEF1DTXpmgH8ZL79Vg7E_Bu7ZOkB0A/view
If you have more questions, we are always here to help. Email us at smplytherapy@gmail.com or book a session!