Do face masks affect the way we hear?

Abstract

<b><br>Aim:</b> The aim of the study was to assess if wearing a face mask, hung from the ears, had an effect on the understanding of speech and the perception of surrounding sounds.</br> <b><br>Materials and Methods:</b> Assessment of auditory perception using verbal noise audiometry in two clinical conditions; without a face mask and with a face mask. To assess the auditory perception ability, two parameters were measured; word recognition score (WRS) and sound intensity at maximal WRS.</br> <b><br>Results:</b> Without wearing facial masks, the maximum values of WRS for the study group ranged from 75% to 100% with 52% of respondents achieved WRS 100%. While wearing face masks, the highest calculated WRS for the study group ranged from 80% to 100%, with 32% of individuals achieved WRS of 100%.</br> <b><br>Conclusion:</b> The wearing of face masks do not change the speech recognition scores. This may indicate a stronger role of psycho-sociological aspects of hearing difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic.</br>