As it has for many companies, 2020 has been a year of change at ADCO Hearing Products in Colorado. Pre-pandemic, the company specialized in tech-related items for the hearing-impaired. Now, their focus is masks.

“A lot of masks and many many more to come,” said Abby Armijo, ADCO Hearing’s president. “We’ve scaled production so many times.”

ADCO has developed what’s known as a window mask, a face covering with clear vinyl that exposes the mouth and is designed to reduce communication barriers for the 48 million Americans who have some ​degree of hearing loss.

“They’re already struggling with either a lack of volume or lack of clarity and both things together come together to reduce the amount of understanding that they have,” said Julie Schlager, the mother of two deaf children.

The problem is that the masks that help reduce coronavirus spread and we’ve all become accustomed to wearing obscure facial expressions and make lip-reading impossible. Window masks make it very possible, for the hearing impaired, for everyone.

“If you’re deaf and you rely on sign language, it’s not just my hands moving, it’s much more than that,” Armijo said.

ClearMask, a company based in Maryland, started making transparent face masks three years ago after one of its founders, who’s deaf, had surgery.

“When she got into the operating room, all the doctors and nurses were wearing surgical masks, so she was completely cut off from communicating with anyone around her,” said Aaron Hsu, ClearMask’s C.E.O.

ClearMask ramped up production of its single-use surgical-level masks early on in the pandemic.

“It was a big decision for us and it was scary to be completely frank,” Hsu said.

It’s now sold millions.

“We’ve grown exponentially, it’s kind of hard for us to wrap our head around,” he said.

Schools and hospitals are show​ing particular interest in window masks. Emmett Schlager, who wears a cochlear implant to hear, said masks worn by others have been invaluable to him.

“I think I kind of underestimated how much I use lip-reading to help understanding stuff and as my mom wears it in public when we go out, it’s a huge help,” Schlager said. “It’s insane how much I’m being able to pick up versus not.”

Armijo, whose masks retail for $20, said the masks also allow for critical non-verbal cues,​important to all of us.  

“Usually the conversation starts with I can see your smile which goes a long way after months of not seeing other people smile,” she said.

“Everywhere I go everyone is like wow, that’s amazing, I can see your face, I can understand you better, it’s so nice, thank you,” Julie Schlager said.

“It’s fundamental for us to want to see who we’re talking to and it’s why we use Skype and FaceTime and emoji when we text,” Hsu said.

You shouldn’t have to choose between communication and safety, they all say. It’s possible during these strange times to have both.

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