Improved face-worn PPE designs for use by the public and professionals to reduce audio-visual communication difficulties

为了减少COVID-19的传播，需要个人防护装备（PPE）。保护眼睛、鼻子和嘴的个人防护装备包括面罩和护目镜。这些产品包括由家用织物制成的供公众使用的简单覆盖物，以及FFP 3/N99级空气过滤器和护理环境中的环绕式面罩。所有这些PPE风格都使口语和手语交流变得更加困难。每个人，不仅仅是听力受损的人，都很难理解现实世界的条件和背景声音。这将导致更多的倾听努力、压力、沟通错误和潜在的社交退缩。PI及其小组成员于2020年5月在专业期刊上发表的文章（https：//www. entandaudiologynews.com/features/audiology-features/post/the-challenges-of-facemasks-for-people-with-hearing-loss）从焦虑的成年人、父母、公众和专业人士那里收集了100多份回复。听觉和视觉线索都被面部覆盖物减弱了：（i）听觉：声音的高频被衰减，导致“压抑”的感觉（ii）视觉：看到说话者的嘴部运动，所有听众都可以使用它来补充讲话的消音，以及（iii）视觉：完整的面部表情，传达情感，补充唇读，是重要的组成部分，（非声学）英国手语（BSL）。采用用户调查，制作和测试，该项目将制作经过验证的面罩和遮阳板设计示例，这些设计可以保留声音和视觉线索，从而提供更轻松的沟通多种使用场景。它汇集了声学家，听力学家，材料科学家和用户，以解决一个紧迫的问题，影响到每个人现在，也将持续到目前的流行病。

To reduce the transmission of COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE) isrequired. PPE to protect the eyes, nose and mouth comprises face masks and transparentvisors. These range from a simple covering made from domestic fabrics for use by thepublic, to FFP3/N99 rated air filters and wrap-around face visors in care settings. All thesePPE styles make spoken and signed communication harder. Everyone, not just thehearing impaired, will struggle to understand in real-world conditions and backgroundsounds. This will result in increased listening effort, stress, communication errors andpotentially social withdrawal. Articles published in May 2020 by the PI and his groupleader in a professional journal(https://www.entandaudiologynews.com/features/audiology-features/post/the-challenges-of-facemasks-for-people-with-hearing-loss) produced over 100 responses from anxiousadults, parents, public and professionals.Both acoustic and visual cues are reduced by face coverings: (i) acoustic : the high frequencies ofthe sound are attenuated, leading to a "muffled" perception (ii) visual : sight of the talker's mouthmovements that can be used by all listeners to supplement the muffling of speech and (iii) visual :full-facial expressions that convey emotions, supplement lip-reading and are essentialcomponents of (the non-acoustic) British Sign Language (BSL).Employing user surveys, fabrication, and testing, this project will produce validated examples offacemask and visor designs that preserve acoustic and visual cues thereby offering less effortfulcommunication in a variety of usage scenarios. It brings together acousticians, audiologists,material scientists, and users to tackle an urgent problem that affects everyone now, and will alsooutlast the current pandemic.