Orléans graphic designer Jody Maffett didn’t think COVID would affect her life all that much back in March. After all, she’s worked from home for a very long time and her hearing – or lack of it – hadn’t posed much of a problem.
“I am great at communicating via text and e-mail. If I need to go to a meeting, I make sure I can see everyone’s faces because I read lips,” says Maffett.
But COVID proved to be a unique challenge when she – who is the only driver in her household – went grocery shopping after the mandatory face mask requirement was implemented.
“It was really tough at first. I mean, it shouldn’t be that difficult a transaction, right? But all of a sudden, the world changed.”
Maffett developed an interim system that helped her function reasonably well, but it involved a lot of finger pointing and waving her hands around.
It’s really difficult in stores where they have to tell you which checkout aisle to go to. In her case, Maffett has to walk up to the person and ask them to indicate which aisle to go to using their fingers.
“Being hard of hearing or deaf is an invisible disability – I’ve lived with it since I was a teenager, so I’m used to telling people to look at me when they speak,” says Maffett.
While most people are understanding and accommodating, because they can’t see the disability, they forget – sometimes in seconds – which is why Maffett started searching online for face masks that could communicate for her. In the early days, people were sending her images of face masks with clear film over the mouth.
“Those are terrific, but only if the other person is wearing one. I’m not going to buy a bunch and hand them out wherever I go,” she laughs.
When Maffett failed to find anything appropriate, she made a couple by hand. People often stopped her and asked where she got them. So she took her love of typography and went ahead and had a batch made professionally. She then posted her creation on Facebook and waited to see if there was any interest – she was inundated with requests. They sold out quickly.
The phrasing ‘I AM HEARING IMPAIRED’ has not been entirely welcome by those who prefer the terms deaf and hard of hearing. “I just wanted a short and sweet message that got the point across. That said, I am compiling a list of people who have said they want masks that say ‘I AM DEAF’ or ‘I AM HARD OF HEARING’.”
Jody currently has a two options of masks (quantities are limited): 180 gsm cotton and 100% recycled polyester. The cotton ones sell for $12, while the polyester are $20. Taxes are included in the price, but mailing is additional. Pick-up is free at her Fallingbrook home. You can order yours by emailing her at jody@maffett.ca.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)