One of the biggest changes to our daily lives that the coronavirus has brought is the habitual usage of personal protective equipments (PPEs), especially facial masks.

For many Westerners, it was their first time wearing them in a situation where they weren’t sick.

While many experts cite the usage of masks as curbing the rate of infection, it also had unexpected consequences. For Justine Bate and her 10 year old daughter Teona, constant wearing of masks meant they couldn’t communicate as both of them are deaf.

Bate, who works as a graphic designer, worried that Teona would have a hard time communicating with her friends because she couldn’t read their lips. Using her profession to her advantage, she decided to design a mask with a plastic window in the front so that the wearer’s lips can be seen.

After Bate shared the design on her social media account, she says that many people have called her to place orders for this new mask. She says that all the masks are handmade by her using her sewing machine.

She said that a lot of the orders are coming in from people who have difficulty hearing and also from care workers. Some clients in care facilities, such as those with autism, are frightened of people wearing full face masks which is why the workers are buying the masks as well.

Bate told the media that she couldn’t meet all the demands but said she is trying her best. The masks are being sold for a price of $7.40 each including packaging and shipping costs. She clarified that she didn’t design the mask to generate profit, but rather just to help her daughter and anyone else who may find it useful.

Bate did explain that her masks are not as effective as PPEs as they lack filters. However, many of her customers believe that the easier communication is definitely worth the decreased protectiveness of the mask.

Her husband described Justine as someone who always involved herself to solve a problem when she saw one. The Bates explained that it took several days of trying out different designs before they settled on the current one.

We certainly hope that neither the pandemic nor masks discriminate the people with difficulty hearing. Share this story with your friends, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more stories like this one.

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