We need people to wear a clear mask. Especially for people who need facial cues in day-to-day communication. Many among us and around us know this. But the lack of a centralized source of clear mask information has hindered many from getting one. Jacob (Jake) deHahn and Patrick deHahn responded by creating accessiblemasks.org. These two American brothers are cochlear implant users. I interviewed them to learn more about the platform and their cochlear implant story.
What’s accessiblemasks.org?
It’s a platform with a short list of clear mask suppliers. The deHahn brothers have curated the clear mask providers according to style, material and quantity. Indicate the requirements (i.e. style, material and quantity) and the platform will display the suitable clear mask provider.
It does the legwork
The platform does the cherry-picking for clear mask shoppers. Instead of them browsing through Google, Amazon, Etsy and Facebook groups, the deHahn brothers have done the legwork on their behalf. They’ve researched the clear mask styles, materials and prices before shortlisting the providers. So the clear mask shoppers just need to choose among the best.
So the next time someone says to the deHahn brothers “Your clear mask is so cool! Where did you get them?”, the conversation doesn’t stop there. It could continue at accessiblemasks.org. And, ideally, ends with them getting a clear mask.
It started from sporadically sharing links
Jake is a designer at a small marketing technology startup in San Francisco while Patrick is a freelance journalist (most recently, he was a news curator at Quartz, a global economy news organization).
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit earlier this year, Jake was quick to adopt clear masks. He even made his own clear masks. Though his goal is to have those in his communication circle, and eventually everyone else, wear one themselves. He began a link directory in his Instagram bio to clear masks he found but it was ineffective for mass-sharing. Patrick then suggested that they purchase the web domain accessiblemasks.org, which happened to be available, and set up a website with it. The brothers soon kicked it off with their design and editorial skills respectively.
Advocating for their hearing needs as a second nature to them
The deHahn brothers have practised advocating for their hearing needs since they were kids. 24-year-old Jake had his profound hearing loss diagnosed within days after birth; 29-year-old Patrick got his diagnosis when he was 9 months old. Both their parents have normal hearing. Jake and Patrick both wore hearing aids until they were fitted with a cochlear implant at age 4 and 11 respectively.
Jake used an FM (frequency modulation) system throughout his school life up until college. He mostly had small classes at college since they were studio/design courses. For lecture-style classes (which he had only once a semester), he enlisted a CART (communication access real-time translation) reporter.
Patrick has been equally vocal about requesting accommodations for his hearing needs. He made it a practice to discuss accommodations that he’d need with his teachers or the disability services coordinators before the start of a school year. Such accommodations include having his teachers wear an FM microphone, peer note-takers, and the occasional CART service.
They credited their parents for empowering them to speak up for themselves. “They weren’t necessarily holding our hands all the time but they’re always supporting us from behind,” Jake said. When the need for people wearing a clear mask arises, they’re more than ready to speak up about it.
At the workplace
At his (remote) work with the marketing technology startup, Jake managed to get his employer to employ otter.ai, a Zoom plugin that provides real-time captioning and transcription recordings. For his journalism work, Patrick would request to have his interviews and calls done over a video platform. He also asks for clarification, sends follow-up questions and reviews the meeting notes over the email are some of the little steps to make sure he doesn’t miss out on anything important. When it comes to getting support at our workplaces, Jake stressed that we have to be persistent.
In social settings
They don’t shy away from being upfront about their hearing needs in social settings too. “If I can’t understand you, I’m going to make sure you know,” Jake said. He will sit or walk on the right side of his friends in an outing. He never had issues having people respect his hearing needs. Noisy places like bars, though, are just hit or miss.
Patrick described his approach as being transparent and easy-going. He may tell whomever he’s meeting that he needs to sit on one side to better hear them. And if he misunderstood what someone said, they’ll clarify.
Their message for you and me
Jake and Patrick have parting words for you and me:
“Being deaf is a part of who you are but not all of who you are! It makes you a more empathetic and unique individual — for me, it has been a driving factor for my career and personal life.” Jake deHahn
“Do the best you can. Be confident, stand up for yourself, and don’t let your deafness hold you back. Your hearing loss and your cochlear implant are just a part of your story — relationships and opportunities will come your way and respect you the way you are.” Patrick deHahn
Indeed, let’s not let our deafness mask our lives. But put on a clear mask! Check out accessiblemasks.org!
24-year-old Jacob (Jake) deHahn
29-year-old Patrick deHahn
You could find more cochlear implant user stories here.
CI Project collects cochlear implant user stories. I’d like to invite you to join the private Facebook group. You’ll receive an update of each new story (about once a month) and will get to interact with the characters of each story there. I’m also looking for more cochlear implant user stories. I’d appreciate it if you could nominate a cochlear implant user (including yourself) for me to write a story about!