According to an article in Korea Biomedical Review, mask regulations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused more people to become aware they had hearing difficulties than before.

Related article: How Do Medical Masks Degrade Speech Reception?

Data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service showed that “the number of patients with hearing loss increased by 30% to 418,092 in 2019 from 293,620 in 2015,” and Korea Biomedical Review reports that some otolaryngologists have reported an increase in patients seeking hearing tests.

“Patients who had not been aware of hearing difficulties in their daily lives are now finding it challenging to listen to others because they cannot read lips or facial expressions due to mask-wearing,” the article says.

To read the article, in full, please click here.

Source: Korea Biomedical Review