Face Masks Melbourne: Thomastown business invents Ear Saver Band
With Melbourne’s mask deadline looming, a Thomastown business owner has come up with a simple invention to help make the experience a little less painful. It comes as a former Hong Kong resident who experienced the SARS pandemic shares her advice.
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A Thomastown business owner has come up with a device to help ease the tension that often comes with wearing a face mask.
PACKQUEEN owner Monique Samara developed the Ear Saver Band, a piece of expandable plastic that you can hook onto the back of your mask to relieve the pressure around your ears.
“It was a combination of speaking to people, not only our staff but other businesses around us who had staff wearing masks who said they were getting pressure around the back of the ears; and it was just a rubbing, annoying feeling they were getting,” she said.
“And because traditionally we do manufacturing of packaging we thought that we wanted to look for a way to relieve that pressure off the back of the ears.
“All it is, it’s so simple, it’s an adjustable band, that has different sections that you just hook the elastic part of your traditional face mask too, and you can either do it a little bit tighter or a little bit looser.
“You literally loop the face mask elastic around it and it just goes on straight away.”
Ms Samara said they tested the band with staff who found it was so much better not to have that irritation on the back of the ear.
The bands are reusable, made from Australian-made plastic, and can be washed and disinfected.
When coronavirus hit, PACKQUEEN also moved into developing Australian-made face shields and has since distributed more than 25,000 to essential workers.
“Once masks became compulsory we wanted to step up and help the community even further,” Ms Samara said.
“The primary focus of these projects has been to help the community by producing products in demand by front line workers and keeping manufacturing jobs within Australia.
“We have been able to continue to employ a number of individuals as a result of adapting our business model to producing products in demand due to COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Masks Australia group is encouraging people to make their own masks, using a method invented by Hong Kong doctor Dr. K. Kwong.
The Hong Kong Mask is a reusable three layer cloth mask with a disposable middle layer filter, that can be made from kitchen paper towel.
Founder of Hong Kong Masks Australia Olivia Chin said most group members had
experienced the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong in 2003.
“We have learned from this bitter experience and realised the importance of mask-wearing,” she said.
“SARS is a stronger virus but not as contagious as COVID-19.
“In 2003 in Hong Kong (SARS) was really new and at first we had a few medical staff die not knowing anything about it, then we got all the experience back then, of the importance of social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks.”
She said the group had offered free masks to health care workers, the elderly, vulnerable and those with disabilities and provided information and guidance for people to make the masks themselves.
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