A deaf woman has created face masks with a see-through panel to help the hard of hearing to better communicate.
Julie Wixey, from Tysoe, Warwickshire, experienced huge difficulty on a shopping trip to Tesco as she had to constantly pull her mask down to communicate with shop assistants when trying to find items.
You can see how the clever masks work in this video:
And with face masks becoming mandatory in shops in England from July 24, the care worker, who relies on lip reading for communication, is very concerned for other deaf people or those hard of hearing.
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So Julie decided to create the see-through face masks and has gone on to sell more than 200 of them. She's now had to pause orders due to the high demand.
The face masks are intended for everyone, but particularly help those who are hard of hearing, deaf or have learning disabilities and are a much friendlier alternative to the traditional face covering.
Speaking on behalf of her mother, Michelle Wixey, 20, said: "It's frustrating for her and it's making her become more stressed knowing she isn't able to communicate with people.
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"If she was trying to talk to someone who didn't know sign language at all, it would be near enough impossible with a traditional face mask as she wouldn't be able to lip read.
"A lot of people have anxiety about masks becoming mandatory in shops as how are deaf people supposed to communicate? It's difficult enough as it is without the masks.
"Since she started making and selling them, my phone hasn't stopped pinging. She used to be a professional sewer so it's bringing back nice memories for her and it's really relaxing.
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"A lot of people have said that it's more helpful and friendly and I hope that more people will start wearing them."
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