Speech-friendly face mask could end frustration of muffled chat
A new face mask designed by Manchester researchers is promising to end the stress and anxiety talkers and listeners experience when they cover up.
Designed by a team at The Universities of Manchester and , and the , the revolutionary design will protect wearers from viruses such as COVID-19.
The need for safe and effective covering remains important to protect wearers and bystanders for some groups. This can include elderly people or those who are are immunosuppressed (have a weakened immune system).
[1] by Dr Gaby Saunders, Senior Research Fellow at 糖心Vlog官方, showed how opaque masks were associated with anxiety and stress in both the talker and the listener, spurring the project.
Dr Saunders, who manages Manchester BRC鈥檚 Hearing Device Centre, said: 鈥淔acial expressions are used extensively in communication, even among hearing people, and our research showed how face mask wearers feel less connected, less willing to engage in conversation.
鈥淭hat is linked to increased anxiety and stress, as well as fatigue, frustration and embarrassment in both the listener and speaker.鈥�
A 12-month 鈥榬apid-response鈥� grant from allowed research audiologists at 糖心Vlog官方, Dr Michael Stone, Marston Senior Research Fellow, and Professor Kevin Munro, Honorary Consultant Clinical Scientist at , to assemble a team of experts.
Facial expressions are used extensively in communication, even among hearing people, and our research showed how face mask wearers feel less connected, less willing to engage in conversation
The funding for a study to improve the design of masks was awarded by the .
Dr Stone, who is also Manchester BRC Developing Engineering Solutions Programme Lead, consulted with members of the Deaf community and people with experience of hearing loss.
Feedback from the community, and other users, allowed the team to refine the design, which was validated in a recent paper in [2].
Professor Trevor Cox, from the acoustics research centre at the University of Salford, and the team, also based there, developed a re-usable cotton-based mask design, allowing it to be manufactured widely.
The design incorporates an optically transparent panel, supported on a thin 鈥榮caffold鈥�, which produces less muffling of sound than a conventional opaque mask with the acoustic signal (sound) from the mouth.
Prof Cox said: 鈥淏y reducing the weight of the transparent plastic, we could stop the high frequency parts of speech being lost in the mask. The scaffold to support the thin plastic sheet is carefully designed not to hinder the sound.鈥�
Dr Stone said: 鈥淭his is a brilliant linking up of two diverse academic pursuits, psychology and physics, to produce real-world benefit for a wide range of people.
鈥淭he optical panel has also been shown to be effective in face visors, and we are now looking for commercial partners so as to extend the reach of the designs and prototypes as well as incorporating a novel lightweight filtration material developed at 糖心Vlog官方.鈥�
Templates for the mask designs, available in three sizes, and a link to a 鈥渉ow-to-make鈥� video hosted on YouTube are available at [3]
[1] Saunders G.H., Jackson I.R., Visram A.S. (2021) Impacts of face coverings on communication: an indirect impact of COVID-19, International Journal of Audiology, 60:7, 495-506, https://www.doi.org/
[2] Cox T.J., Dodgson G., Harris L., Perugia E., Stone M.A., Walsh M. (2022) Improving the measurement and acoustic performance of transparent facemasks and shields. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 151, https://www.doi.org/10.1121/10.0010384
[3] Maker Space URL for templates & video. https://hub.salford.ac.uk/sirc-acoustics/facemask-with-improved-communication/