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Our Story
The ClearMask story began in 2015 when one of our co-founders, Allysa Dittmar, was set to undergo a life-changing surgery. As a deaf person, Allysa relies heavily on visual communication, facial expressions, and lip reading to communicate. The hospital scheduled an American Sign Language interpreter for her entire surgery experience, and she prepared for the surgery, nervous as any patient.
However, on the date of her procedure, the hospital made an administrative scheduling error, and her sign language interpreter never showed up. That’s when things got really scary for Allysa. She was left to navigate an operating room full of covered faces and silence. She couldn’t communicate with anyone and she had no idea what was happening.
This experience can happen to many of us. Traditional masks can block communication, cause confusion, and create a disconnect.
Breaking barriers and making a clear difference
After such an isolating experience, Allysa knew that she could not let this happen to anyone else. Along with several other Johns Hopkins students, Allysa and the team brainstormed a solution to make healthcare more human again: the ClearMask™.
ClearMask, LLC was officially founded on September 1, 2017. The team spent 3 years on research and development with many experts, optimizing the mask design for maximum clarity and comfort with the vision of making connections more human and providing clearer communication for all.
After receiving FDA clearance in April 2020, the ClearMask™ Transparent Surgical Mask has helped many communities in need - from national and state governments to hospitals and schools. By providing full access to the face and lip-reading in a masked world, the ClearMask™ brand has benefitted different groups of people, including deaf and hard of hearing individuals, children, older people, and many others who heavily rely on visual communication.