Deafness and Hard of Hearing

Deafness is not an all-or-nothing condition.

People who have a severe or profound hearing loss are considered deaf.

Those with lesser degrees of hearing loss are commonly referred to as hard-of hearing.

The term deaf or deafness (with a small d) is used to describe the audiological condition.

The upper case “D” is often used to as a cultural label for the people who share the Deaf Culture.

**NOTE:  For the rest of the module, we will refer to people who are deaf or hard of hearing as D/HOH.