Lecturing in an N95

August 27, 2021 5:03 PM

Back in the spring, I signed up for teaching "in person" classes at my university. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then Delta happened. Help me survive and give my students some good education...

This is in California, where Delta is big (but not super). Students have the option of attending over Zoom, and our university has masking and vaccine (testing) requirements, but I want to be safe.

I will be getting tested frequently.

But I'm signed up to lecture 2 x 2 hour classes twice a week.

Also, this is a hybrid class, and students can elect to stay home and Zoom in, so not only do my in-person students need to hear me, but my voice has to be as clear as possible for the classroom mics.

I'm not sure if I have a weird face, but N95 masks have sucked - they are too tight, too hot, or don't fit well and fog my glasses. Recently, I have found a few I enjoy: Respokare Large size (size is important!) and the 3M Aura models (various).

Respokare is a bit more restrictive, but has lower volume, and good elastic. 3M Aura has a nice design, fabric is thinner (easier to breath/talk through) and keeps the mask off your face, but this ends up giving you more "dead air" volume which seems hotter and more humid.


I did some tests by myself in class last week, and it was useful: about 90 minutes in, my N95 gets humid and saturated, and I would not want to wear the same mask for my next class 1 hour later.

Based on this, I definitely need more than one mask per day.

If I stand still, my glasses fog more, but if I pace a little, they stay clear. I'm pretty sure this is not leakage (which I test for) but just the fact that if you stand still, hot air doesn't move away.

Living in a hot area, I realized: don't run to class at the last minute, as you will be all sweaty, and sweat + N95 just makes evertything worse..

The Question: How do you lecture in an N95 mask effectively?

posted by soylent00FF00 to Education (25 answers total)

Microphone.
posted by blue suede stockings at 5:14 PM on August 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Microphone you say? You, dear person, are not overly burdened with loquaciousness! Bravo! (but should you fail a CAPTCHA, fie!)

Our U has offered us these microphones but these seem like gizmos that you wear on your body that amplify your voice.

Does this work with in-classroom mics? Does this work with masks? do you wear the mic inside or outside the infernal N95?

Actual advice from real human teachers is what I'm after here.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 5:22 PM on August 27, 2021 [3 favorites]

A couple suggestions

1) Buy a lavalier-style BT microphone and a Bluetooth speaker. You can clip that inside your mask and your voice should be fine.

2) Check everybody's vax cards. Those who're not vaxed or refuse to show them will be asked to stay as far back as possible and keep social distancing. EVERYBODY stays masked at all times.

One Marin county delta outbreak was caused by ONE unvaxxed teacher in elementary school. At least 27 students have tested positive.
posted by kschang at 5:22 PM on August 27, 2021 [6 favorites]

This seems pretty highly recommended, and is a full system.

https://www.amazon.com/WinBridge-Microphone-Amplification-M700-Plus/dp/B08R1ZF3ST/
posted by kschang at 5:29 PM on August 27, 2021

I am a real human teacher and I’ve been teaching five hours a day in a KN-95 for two weeks now. It is not great but here we are.

Can you ensure the classroom mics are close to you? Otherwise IDK, I’ve just been trying to talk louder than normal.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 5:31 PM on August 27, 2021 [3 favorites]

Switching to a KF94 may help. Many have similar protection, but I find I can be heard a lot better in mine, and some are even more breathable. I chose mine based on this aerosol engineer's tests https://www.youtube.com/user/coll0412/videos
posted by kjnet at 5:37 PM on August 27, 2021 [4 favorites]

Consider getting a throat mic. They don't cost much and don't interfere with a mask.
posted by mhoye at 5:40 PM on August 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Great info, thx!

Hopefully last thread-sit:

* My voice is naturally loud and classes and classrooms are smol (under 30 peeps) so I don't think I need artificial amplification help. My worry is that keeping a (sweaty) N95 on my head, and some sort of bluetooth mic (and checking Zoom chat logs etc. etc.) will just be too many bands, straps, parts, cables etc.

* I want in-person students to have the best experience -- this format was set up (by the U) to favor the in-person students. (We have other purely online sections for others). I don't want the online attendees to have a bad experience per se, but I need to focus on the people in seats.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 5:59 PM on August 27, 2021

For the glasses issue, try wiping your glasses down with one of these cloths before class--I usually stay fog-free for about two hours after using this.
posted by mjcon at 6:08 PM on August 27, 2021

I don't know if contacts are an option for you, but after years of only wearing glasses, I've returned to part time contact wearing for days when I have to be masked for more than half an hour or so. One less thing on my face/nose to fiddle with and fog is a big help.
posted by Stacey at 6:46 PM on August 27, 2021

Response by poster: I don't actually wear glasses, but I've been wearing clear safety glasess (something like this) because I'm worried that COVID can infect one's eyeballs. I feel like fomites have been discounted, but do we have good data on eyeball transmission?
posted by soylent00FF00 at 6:53 PM on August 27, 2021

I am an N95-wearing academic librarian who teaches. I use a mic. There are merits to lavalier, the over-ear models, podium-fixed, and handheld. I have tried all of them, outside the mask. The handheld was best, but for ease I will probably be going lavalier.

All of the straps are annoying, but my advice is simple, if annoying: slow down. It’s just like instruction generally or lecturing specifically: moving at high speed does not guarantee anything, let alone that you “cover everything,” if the students are not learning. Think about your desired outcomes and adjust to that. We are still living and teaching in a pandemic. Plan an extra 2 min/hr to muck around with straps, etc.
posted by cupcakeninja at 7:02 PM on August 27, 2021 [4 favorites]

we use KF94s with silicone ear straps teaching lab courses. I like the structure and the filtration of the brand I use--BLUNA--has good reviews (see above).

I wear safety glasses and they're....fine, but you have to situate the mask pretty carefully to avoid fogging.

in the pre-pandemic days I wore Moldex Airwaves and liked them if you are going for a classic N95 (I use an R95 when I wear Airwaves, but same basic setup). Safety/impact style glasses (as opposed to splash goggles which always fog on me) rarely fogged with Airwaves.

Check everybody's vax cards. Those who're not vaxed or refuse to show them will be asked to stay as far back as possible and keep social distancing.

OP, I suspect you knew this, but just general FYI: overall colleges and universities* can require proof of vaccination. You, an instructor, cannot demand that you personally be shown private medical information from a student. This applies to COVID-19 the same way "I want to see your mental health records" is not an appropriate request from a random instructor.

*there are exceptions that you'd know about when you sign up for those particular private institutions.I disagree that those requirements are ethical, but I don't work in one of those institutions, so.
posted by Laetiporus at 7:31 PM on August 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

This article seems relevant to your needs (I hope): "Face masks make it harder to hear, but amplification can help," from the University of Illinois. In case you just want a few-minute summary, they have a video on YT. The parts that seem useful are that KN-95 masks are slightly better than N-95 for in-person sound and that masks direct a lot of vocal sound upward or downward, so a lav mic (one that's on your collar, outside the mask) that's plugged into the Zoom only should work fairly well for the distanced humans while leaving you with your normal classroom loudness for theose in person.

As far as fog, here's an NYT article that might help at least a little?
posted by lauranesson at 7:47 PM on August 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

Also, just as a message to at least a huge majority of the population in the whole world, these masks have in general been designed for the faces of white male men, so it is not your face that is weird. Your face is gorgeous.
posted by lauranesson at 7:58 PM on August 27, 2021 [10 favorites]

I’m a schoolteacher who has to wear a mask all day at school. It’s not fun but not that bad either. In addition to great tips above, I recommend giving everyone a 5-15 break to go outside for a breather or simply stretch & mentally pause inside. It really helps my middle schoolers and, quite frankly, me even more! I definitely second your plan of switching masks during the day for comfort.
posted by smorgasbord at 8:37 PM on August 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

I have been using the Korean Kf94 style masks from masklab.us in a setting where I need to be masked for 50-55 minutes every hour. Information on the quality standards is here and confirmed independently by Aaron Collins. The fit is really good for me - if I get everything situations just right then my glasses don't fog and breathability is good. I do have to speak just a little louder (small groups not lecture.) I have a problem will all masks digging into my ear so I added these soft ear protectors to make it work for me.
posted by metahawk at 9:24 PM on August 27, 2021 [3 favorites]

I recommended this mask fitter on another recent Ask about masks. One reason I like it is that it has greatly reduced glass fogging for me, in addition to its main purpose of improving how masks seal around the edges.

Here's a recent article about it:
https://wkow.com/2021/08/17/ mask-fitter-created-by-uw-madison-engineers -can-help-in-high-risk-covid-19-situations/
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 10:00 PM on August 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

If you haven't tried it, a "mattifying" makeup primer might help the sweat issue. (Or "mattifying" sunblock.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:06 PM on August 27, 2021

I just performed in a musical in a KN95 all night, from 6:30-11:30 tonight. Double masked with a fabric mask over it, even. I was reluctant to take off my mask to get a drink of water (see other posts about having a Covid scare with this show!) all night, but honestly, the only problem I really had was keeping it on my ears, as my ears hate elastic on my ears. I got one that strapped full on around my head and I had to keep it below my hair which was kind of the problem, but other than that, it was fine. I could be heard onstage, it wasn't uncomfortable to speak all night, I could breathe.

I got mine from Powecom online, which is a vetted website for those.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:58 PM on August 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

It's been my observation (as a student, in slightly larger classes) that lapel mics make the Zoom experience a lot better with some small trade offs for the in person students. Namely, there can be feedback between any classroom mics and the lapel mic depending on where the instructor is in the room. So as long as the instructor doesn't move around too much (e.g. pacers can sometimes flip their collar over -> temporarily rendering the mic useless), avoids lecturing from places in the room where there is feedback with the room mics, and sets the amplification volume to the appropriate level, things work about as well as they can (audio-wise) for in person and virtual students.

On the other hand, IMHO/ IME/ YMMV of course, room mics are the spawn of satan. They pick up every chair scrape, every whisper, but not necessarily every student's full question.

By the way, I don't think instructors can always tell in the moment how well the audio is (or is not) working, so consider checking in regularly with your in person and virtual students.

You could also consider making it very clear that you will be flexible and accommodating with any Covid/ illness related concerns (and try to make the Zoom experience as unterrible as possible) so that students feel comfortable attending over Zoom if they need to.

Finally, it is always appreciated to have a break of sufficient duration so that one could go outside and take a mask break.
posted by oceano at 12:10 AM on August 28, 2021

I had to do some machining with a mask on, which means safety goggles. They fogged up terribly until I took a piece of masking tape and sealed the mask against the bridge if my nose. Voila! No more fogging. Not particularly fashionable, but quite functional.

Also, I’ve heard of, but not tried, “singer’s masks”, which have more space around the mouth, which may improve sound quality.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:18 AM on August 28, 2021

Sorry, I just realized my comment above is probably not helpful to you because you're using an N95 respirator, and the mask fitter I mentioned can't be used with N95s. However, it can apparently provide the same level of protection as an N95 if you use it with a good-quality disposable mask (i.e. one that provides a high enough degree of filtration). So that could be another option worth exploring if you decide the N95 is too uncomfortable/expensive.

Also, the link I pasted doesn't work because it got an extra space in it somehow: this link should work ok.
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 5:21 AM on August 28, 2021

Make sure the classroom has good ventilation. If there are windows, make sure you can open them and keep them open. If it doesn't have windows, get high quality air filters. Joe Allen is the go-to person on ventilation.

For N95 masks, a friend just recommended the extremely expensive Envo Reusable N95 mask. I saw her wearing it. It looks extremely well made. It has silicon gel where it fits onto your face, which helps it stay comfortable for extended use and reduces fogging. My friend got the recommendation from her daughter, who is a doctor in the LA area. It's expensive, but it might be a worthwhile investment if it keeps you comfortable and safe for the semester and beyond.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 7:41 AM on August 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

Have you tried the Kimtech N95 made by Kimberly-Clark? It's top rated by Wirecutter, in part because it's so comfortable, including having a lot of open space in front of your mouth. I've been using these exclusively for many months. Their duckbill form looks funny, but who cares.
posted by Dansaman at 10:23 PM on August 28, 2021