A sign language translator with a transparent face mask Photo: screenshot of a video of Xinhua on Sina Weibo

As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers on and face masks become a normal part of daily life, the needs of the hearing impaired are being taken into consideration. Advocates are proposing that face masks be made transparent so those with hearing disabilities will still be able to read lips and communicate as usual.

Like everyone else in attendance, sign language translators at the daily pandemic press conferences in Beijing wear masks, but theirs stand out from the others because the bottom portion is transparent to allow others to see their mouths, The Beijing News reported.

Leng Xinxue, leader of the sign language team, said that she made these special masks herself to combine sign language, mouth movements and facial expressions to help the hearing impaired better understand the information discussed at the press conferences. According to her, the face mask design went through five iterations to get things right. 

"The hearing impaired have a high demand for transparent face masks. So we are appealing to official mask manufacturers to take their needs into account and produce some safe, standardized transparent face masks," Leng said.

For the hearing impaired living with people who do not know sign language or hard of hearing groups, like the elderly, it is extremely important to be able to read other people's lips, the report said.

Sometimes a gesture represents more than one meaning, which can be misunderstood easily if there is no expression and lip-synching, a doctor surnamed Chen at the otolaryngology department of a people's hospital in North China's Shanxi Province told the Global Times on Thursday.

To create the masks, Leng cut out the middle section of some medical masks and replaced that part with transparent materials from items such as plastic bottles and then fused the plastic to the mask with some sealant.

To solve the problem of lack of oxygen after wearing the mask for a long time, Leng added a respiration valve of N95 face mask on the transparent mask. She offered the self-made face masks to her colleagues.

The special face masks have captured the attention of Chinese netizens, many of whom have also started calling on manufacturers to produce these types of masks. 

"The transparent face masks build a bridge for people with hearing impairments, which is very important under the current situation. It is very considerate," one netizen commented on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

Another Sina Weibo user called it a great idea as "a healthy and developed society should take care of everyone's needs, including those who are in trouble or different from others. Disabled people also have the right to continue their normal lives during the COVID-19 outbreak."

One of China's largest e-commerce platforms Taobao currently only has ordinary face masks and a type of transparent mask for chefs to use while cooking. However, these transparent masks cannot prevent the transmission of the virus because the top part does not seal to the face.

One seller of these types of masks on Taobao told the Global Times that they have not sold these transparent protection face masks nor can they custom-make them.