Speech discrimination challenges of healthcare professionals whilst
wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
Abstract
Background Coronavirus disease 2019(Covid-19) Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) has been reported to effect communication in healthcare
settings. We sought to identify those challenges experimentally. Method
Bamford-Kowal-Bench speech discrimination in noise performance of
healthcare workers was tested under simulated background noise
conditions from a variety of hospital environments. Candidates were
assessed for speech intelligibility with and without PPE both at normal
speech and raised voice. Results There was a significant difference in
speech discrimination scores between normal and PPE wearing subjects in
theatre simulated background noise levels (70dB). Conclusion PPE wearing
can impact communication and efforts should be made to remind staff
about this burden and seek alternative communication paradigms,
particularly in theatre environments.