A charity for people experiencing deafness and hearing loss has asked the National Public Health Emergency Team to consider recommending transparent face shields as a reasonable alternative to face masks.
CHIME says that people living with deafness or acquired hearing loss often rely on lip reading, which cannot be done where a face mask is being worn.
Speaking to RTÉ's This Week Brendan Lennon, head of advocacy at CHIME, said as well as making it easier to lip read, the transparent face shields prevent people from touching their face while wearing them. "We have written to NPHET to ask if they could recommend face shields as a reasonable option," Mr Lennon said Anna B McCabe form Longford, who has suffered hearing loss over 20 years,