Objective: To understand the communicational and psychosocial effects of COVID-19 protective measures in real-life everyday communication settings.
Design: An online survey consisting of close-set and open-ended questions aimed to describe the communication difficulties experienced in different communication activities (in-person and telecommunication) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study sample: 172 individuals with hearing loss and 130 who reported not having a hearing loss completed the study. They were recruited through social media, private audiology clinics, hospitals and monthly newsletters sent by the non-profit organisation "Audition Quebec."
Results: Face masks were the most problematic protective measure for communication in 75-90% of participants. For all in-person communication activities, participants with hearing loss reported significantly more impact on communication than participants with normal hearing. They also exhibited more activity limitations and negative emotions associated with communication difficulties.
Conclusion: These results suggest that, in times of pandemic, individuals with hearing loss are more likely to exhibit communication breakdowns in their everyday activities. This may lead to social isolation and have a deleterious effect on their mental health. When interacting with individuals with hearing loss, communication strategies to optimise speech understanding should be used.
Keywords: COVID-19; communication strategies; face masks; hearing loss; lipreading; telecommunication.