Communication of people with hearing loss during the COVID-19 pandemic

Oštećenje sluha utječe na mnoge važne aspekte života pojedinca, poput razvoja govora, svakodnevne komunikacije te potencira stigmatizaciju osoba. Uobičajeni odgovor na pandemiju COVID-19 bila je povećana upotreba zaštitnih maski za lice. Smjernice Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije (2020.) potiču upotrebu maski za lice u javnim okruženjima i okruženjima kada fizičko distanciranje nije moguće. Svakodnevna komunikacija je u vrijeme epidemije COVID-19 bolesti značajno je promijenjena zbog smanjenja socijalnih kontakata i usvojenih sigurnosnih mjera. Istraživanje se provodi anketnim upitnikom kod pedeset gluhih i nagluhih osoba te pedeset osoba bez oštećenja sluha, različitih dobnih skupina. Upitnik je kreiran za potrebe ovog istraživanja. Prvi dio upitnika čine pitanja o socio - demografskim karakteristikama, a drugi dio pitanja o kvaliteti komunikacije, poteškoćama u komunikaciji i načinu savladavanja barijera izazvanih protuepidemijskim mjerama. Ovom studijom dobiven je uvid u kvalitetu komunikacije osoba s oštećenim sluhom u vrijeme epidemije COVID-19 bolesti te su detektirane barijere u komunikaciji. Korištenje maski znatno otežava komunikaciju. Ispitanici su naveli da prekrivanje lica negativno utječe na sluh, razumijevanje, angažman i osjećaj povezanosti s govornikom. Osobe s oštećenjem sluha bile su znatno više pogođene od onih bez gubitka sluha. Pokrivanje lica utjecalo je na komunikacijski sadržaj, međuljudsku povezanost i spremnost na razgovor; povećana je anksioznost i stres. Istraživanjem se doprinijelo boljem razumijevanju poteškoća s kojima se susreću osobe s oštećenjem sluha i pronalaženju načina na koji bi ostali članovi društva adekvatno mogli pomoći u povećanju kvalitete života gluhih i nagluhih osoba.Hearing impairment affects many important aspects of an individual's life, such as speech development, daily communication, and encourages stigmatization of the person. The usual response to the COVID-19 pandemic was the increased use of face masks. The World Health Organization (2020) guidelines encourage the use of face masks in public environments and environments where physical distance is not possible. Everyday communication at the time of the COVID-19 disease epidemic was significantly changed due to the reduction of social contacts and adopted security measures. The research was conducted with a survey questionnaire with fifty deaf and hard of hearing people, and fifty people without hearing impairment, of different age groups. A questionnaire was created for the purpose of this research. The first part of the questionnaire consists of questions about socio-demographic characteristics, and the second part questions about the quality of communication, communication difficulties and how to overcome barriers caused by anti-epidemic measures. This research provided insight into the quality of communication of people with hearing impairments during the COVID-19 epidemic and several barriers were detected in communication. The use of masks makes communication much more difficult. Respondents stated that covering the face negatively affects a person’s hearing, understanding, engagement, and sense of connection. People with hearing impairment were significantly more affected than those without hearing loss. Facial coverage affected communication content, interpersonal connectivity, and willingness to talk, and anxiety and stress also increased. Research contributes to a better understanding of the difficulties faced by people with hearing impairments and to finding ways in which other members of society could help increase the quality of life of deaf and hard of hearing people