Tru here with TWO added dementia complications from face mask; Understanding speech and Facial Recognition.
For ME, a world of masks is a frightening place … but so is meeting a person without a mask !

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Don’t get me wrong; with my other health complications,
getting covid 19 would be high danger for me —
So i think mask-wearing is crucial.
But it is also important for folks to know the effect masks can have,
in order to compensate whenever possible to retain SOME communication and relationship.

So …

 

Visit to hospital brought discovery that
if those around me have masks on their face, then
i am basically deaf.

With my dementia symptom of understanding speech,
i must see lips moving to make sense of the sounds i hear.
Without lips moving then my primary tool is facial  expression
(most of which is covered with mask and glasses).
Tension around the lips or friendly lips ??
IF glasses are narrow frame, then i am more likely to see crinkly eyes that might show a smile
— but must be very close to see it.

Even with my husband beside me,
i must ask him to remove mask in order to truly understand the words that hospital personnel have told him to tell me !

extremely EXTREMELY frustrating and totally useless unless SOMEONE is willing to remove their mask.

—  ***  —

If everyone speaking to me wore a clear mask, the sounds MIGHT be more muffled,
but i would be more able to put together the puzzle of what is said.

—  ***  —

additionally, i already have quite a few problems recognizing faces.
Since most friends my age now have gray hair, there is no recognition of differences there.
So basically there are eyes, nose, and mouth.  — but Mask covers most of that area.
Chances that i can recognize you are highly unlikely.

When i am out of the house i am always with only strangers
(including my husband unless he is in the process of speaking – because i recognize his voice).
And none of those strangers are friends or friendly
— because how can i know they are being friendly when i cannot see their face or understand their words ??

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For ME, a world of masks is a frightening place
of no identification,
no communication,
and all the friendliness of a SILENT masquerade
— VERY alone in a crowd of anonymous strangers.

i dont feel safe to be around people who are NOT wearing a mask (for my own health),
but i also dont feel emotionally safe to be around people who have their face covered !
… So very thankful that my husband can handle most of the “public” needs for us.

Now more than ever
… i NEVER leave my home !!!

—  ***  —

i know about cell-phone voice-to-text, and that might be something to try next time.  (This time i was just totally overwhelmed with the futility of attempting communication).  But i also know how often voice-to-text mangles my message.  Most usually requires quite a bit of typing to compensate … and often voice-to-text is more work than just typing it myself.

—  ***  —

Now i totally rely on video communication … but i am getting rather touch-hungry.  https://www.healthline.com/health/touch-starved#short-term-solutions .

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LINKS:

CDC says ”

• People who are deaf or hard of hearing—or those who care for or interact with a person who is hearing impaired—may be unable to wear masks if they rely on lipreading to communicate. In this situation, consider using a clear mask. If a clear mask isn’t available, consider whether you can use written communication, use closed captioning, or decrease background noise to make communication possible while wearing a mask that blocks your lips.
• Some people, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health conditions or other sensory sensitivities, may have challenges wearing a mask. They should consult with their healthcare provider for advice about wearing masks.

at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html ;

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i am attending few Zoom groups right now.

Calendar removed to prevent over-Loading the upLoad limit for website “Media Library”, because they actually take quite a bit of mb. ((expired calendar))
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* Admin issues: SHARE dementia awareness thru buttons below. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of comments, but please filter your comments with truthful loving kindness to all concerned. If interested in receiving notice of future blog postings, subscriptions are available through a “follow” button in the upper left corner (MS Explorer) or lower right (Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Chrome). If there is an advertisement below, I have no control over what is shown. My own full legal name is Truthful Loving Kindness. My current diagnosis is still Mild Cognitive Impairment, but my neurologist said I am in a unique position for helping because I have “one foot in each door”. Text Copyright © Truthful L. Kindness 2020Aug16. Tags are: communication, CoronaVirus, covid19, dementia, isolation, mask, PLwD, recognition, relationship, symptom, virus.