There are 48 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing according to the National Association of the Deaf. The association also estimates that 650,000 of these individuals may go to the hospital for COVID-19 treatment. Face masks dramatically impede communication in this population who often use lip reading and facial expressions to get their message across.

According to Fast Company, a college student in Kentucky made a cloth face mask that had a clear, plastic window over the lips. In North Carolina, an audiologist created a similar mask for her patients to help overcome the face mask dilemma.

However, Kathryn Woodcock, a professor at Ryerson University, said that the adapted masks may cause breathing problems and wondered if the plastic panel would divert pathogens to the outer edges of the mask so that they could escape.

Face shields may provide a better option for the hearing impaired. In fact, many experts consider them to be a better option than face masks for everyone.

Amesh Adalja, M.D., a pandemic preparedness expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told AARP that shields are “biologically better than masks” because they cover your eyes as well as your nose and mouth.

He added that people who wear masks tend to adjust them frequently which brings their hands to their faces, potentially transferring the virus. He said that shields are also easy to clean and don’t contribute to the waste buildup of discarded face masks.

Woodcock recommends that hearing people use a pencil and paper to communicate with those who are deaf. Other experts suggest using a talk-to-text app on your smartphone.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated from a previous version.