Are Masks Affecting Your Voice?

Written by: Anna Pasternak / Communication Coaching / June 02, 2021 / 8 minutes read

Since the pandemic started in 2020 masks were made mandatory in June/July last year. Masks are required to be worn in all enclosed public spaces, public transportation and many workplaces. Since then we all know the struggles of wearing a mask and trying to communicate. Depending on the type of mask you are wearing you may have noticed that sometimes when you are speaking, you may not always be heard clearly. This is due to how thick the mask may be which will affect how loud your voice will be heard. 

Depending on your career, you may have to speak through a mask all day. For example those who are in professions such as teaching may be at higher risk of developing strain or damage to their voice. Teachers are talking all day, often with background noise, which can already be difficult to speak  in a normal setting when masks are not required.  When wearing a mask and often a shield with a mask this will make voice projection even harder to travel, as you try to project your voice so that everyone can hear. 

Masks can impact communication in many different ways. Such as the loss of visual information that we have from non-verbal communication, and lip-movements. The visual information received from the lips may be used for lip -reading for those who are hard of hearing.  Having this taken away can make it much more difficult for that population who may depend on lip reading for communication. The reduction of non-verbal communication such as facial expressions can make it more difficult for us to read the emotions of others, which can add an additional layer of difficulty for everyone, especially those who struggle with social communication, and children who are developing their social communication skills.

Masks can impact communication in many different ways. Such as the loss of visual information that we have from non-verbal communication, and lip-movements.

Masks can impact our speech sounds, making them sound more muffled. This can especially affect the high frequency sounds which could be mistaken for other sounds and make our speech sound less clear. High frequency sounds such as ‘sh’ and ‘s’ can easily be mistaken for one another, which can sometimes even change the meaning of the word.  Masks can also cause us to mumble as our jaw movements can be more restricted. Mumbling can also cause miscommunication when words are not understood or heard entirely. 

The loss of visual information may cause us to strain our voices more which can increase vocal effort and fatigue.  What can we do in order to help prevent voice issues and strain? One option can be the use of microphone amplification.   Microphone amplification can be used in all settings. This will help amplify the voice without having to strain it through a mask. With the amplifier you can speak at a comfortable level, to help avoid vocal fatigue. 

Thinking about body posture is also important to help support your voice. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed and down in order to cause less strain in the chest and neck, and have enough room to take in more air, and breathe effectively, which helps to support proper function of our voice. In order to be heard  you also want to speak more clearly. Sometimes we may say something while wearing a mask, and we often get asked to repeat ourselves. In order to help avoid this you should be using clear speech and enunciating. You can do this by speaking more slowly and over pronouncing your speech sounds. Think about how politicians speak when they are giving their speeches, everything is nice and clear and slowly said, so that it can be understood by everyone. Check out our Leadership communication course with the link below, where it goes deeper into how to have a clearer more confident voice. 

In order to keep up a healthy voice we also have to be sure to engage in good oral hygiene. This means staying hydrated throughout the day, and keeping a humidifier on at night especially during the winter months. In order for our vocal folds to function properly they need to be well hydrated.  If you tend to talk a lot at work make sure to take periods of vocal rest, at least 5-10 minutes per hour, where you are not talking at all. Your voice needs breaks just as much as your body and brain do. Doing vocal warm-ups such as humming, can be very helpful to warm up the voice, so  that it is not doing something strenuous without easing into it first. Doing vocal warm-ups in the morning or before a period of anticipated longer speech is always your best bet. It is also recommended to avoid  foods and beverages that can irritate the voice such as caffeine, soda, spice, alcohol, and smoking. These are known to have negative effects on voice if consumed excessively. 

To speak with one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.