HOUSTON - New face coverings are designed to help a community that feels silenced.“The deaf community, and even other disabilities that rely on the face, all of the sudden that was taken away from us,” said Emma Faye.Like roughly 350,000 other Texans, Emma Faye is deaf.
While mandatory face-covering laws are designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they also create communication barriers for those hard of hearing.“I’m completely dependent on lip reading, sign language, and technology,” said Faye. “The biggest thing [right now] is people talking over me, or my parents having to order for me at a restaurant.
It’s really taking away my independence that I fought for my whole life to have.”Just this week, the Centers Disease Control and.