On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the authorities of numerous countries introduced mandatory protective masks in public spaces. Despite numerous communication problems that the masks caused to everyone, they most negatively affected sign language users with hearing impairment since they made it impossible to read lips. The goal of this research was to provide an insight into the experiences and problems that users of Croatian sign language from Dalmatia between the ages of 40 and 70 encountered in their daily lives. Two partner interviews and one independent interview were conducted with users in the presence of a translator, and one telephone interview with the head of one of the Dalmatian associations of deaf and hard of hearing people. The research was grounded in Bernard Spolsky's theory of language policy which helped to understand individual decisions made by users of Croatian sign language in communication based on patterns governed by rules. When communicating with hearing people while wearing masks users used numerous methods, from using paper and digital physical aids to hiring close people to help mediate communication. Prompted by numerous negative experiences in communication with hearing people during the pandemic, users emphasized the need to provide professional assistance to users of Croatian sign language in communication encounters with hearing persons, mostly in health and other public institutions.