“I would get home from 12-hour shifts and I’d go straight to bed and be asleep immediately. I don’t think anyone realises how much energy and focus it takes out of you when you have no natural hearing.”
These are the words of Caitlin Tanner, 25, who was born profoundly deaf and relies heavily on lip-reading to communicate with others. When the pandemic hit, she had just started out as a newly-qualified nurse at Morriston Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) and the move to wearing face masks proved to be a huge challenge as she embarked on her new career.
Unable to lip read as her colleagues wore PPE that covered their mouths, and patients were also often masked up, Caitlin had to ask her new workmates to speak louder and more clearly so she could understand their instructions.
