We are almost two years into the pandemic and still hundreds of millions of Americans are putting on a mask to head out into public. Widespread mask-wearing has caused significant problems for hearing aid wearers around the world, leading to discomfort, elaborate efforts to put on and take off masks, and even lost hearing aids.
Over the last year, I’ve seen an increasing conversation about these challenges, and in this article, I hope to share some tips, tricks, and ideas that might help my fellow hearing aid wearers.
First, some context
If you aren’t a hearing aid wearer or don’t wear behind the ear hearing aids, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Simply put, the straps used on most masks go directly behind the ear, where your hearing aid also rests. Each time you put on, adjust, or take off your mask, you risk flinging your hearing aid off and potentially losing it or at least causing the discomfort of disrupting its position. This challenge only grows for those who also wear glasses.
A few recent tweets illustrate this widespread challenge.
