Those who are deaf are hearing impaired. Deafness is lacking the power or being unable to hear. Being deaf can also be labeled as "hard of hearing," as deaf people have little to no hearing. The community of deaf and hard of hearing individuals is diverse, as there are many different ways for someone to become deaf or hard of hearing, as well as different levels of hearing ability, age of onset, educational background, communication methods, and cultural identity. In children, hearing problem can affect the ability to learn spoken language and in adults it can cause work related difficulties. The causes of hearing lost can be due to a number of factors, including:
There are a variety of ways that deaf individuals communicate with others. Without being able to hear yourself speak, it can be hard for those individuals who are deaf to speak. The methods vary, depending on the cause of deafness, the age of onset, backgrounds, and education. Some of the common ways include:
For Rebekah (no last name given), her parents were told not to sign with her, and she would spend hours at speech therapy. Her parents were instructed this so that Rebekah would be raised as a "hearing" person, however she was never able to be "hearing" because she was born profoundly deaf. She could never really understand speech and could not hear anything with her analogue hearing aids. Deafness was especially tough on her, because her family was very musical, so they felt it was a huge loss having a deaf child and furthermore were very unsupportive of Rebekah. She was also bullied at school for having a funny speech, not being able to 'hear' properly and for not being able to learn like other students in the classroom. She was seen as the dumb deaf girl, and it was very hard on her and very isolating. And because they were told not to teach her, Rebekah did not learn sign language until an older age, but rather would only go to speech therapy. But she hated this, as it was very tiring, and without the support, understanding and ability to help Rebekah from her family, she grew up isolated and deprived. Her "auditory" skills got worse over time, and she couldn't even lip read anymore and became to tired to try to "hear". In this way, sign language helped Rebekah a great deal. It helped to give her the opportunity to actually be able to communicate, and she also felt like she had a place within the deaf community alongside others who also signed. Today she is apart of the "Deaf and Proud" organization, and she has accepted her identity as deaf, even though others view her as "different" within society. Today, Rebekah is a mother of 3 deaf children and 1 hearing child, and she wanted to change the future for her children. She wants her children to experience life in a positive and understanding perspective, a perspective where those in society see and understand that hearing loss is not just an issue surrounding the inability to hear. People with hearing loss, including Rebekah, experience many things such as isolation, deprivation, mental health, not knowing their identity, and most importantly lack of access to services. Rebekah wants to change the mentality surround deafness, and it is important for her to see diversity among all of us with hearing loss, and says that she will stand united for the future of her generation and the people around her.
- Genetics
- Age-ing
- Exposure to loud nose
- Infection
- Birth complications
- Trauma to the ear
- Certain medication or toxins
- Chronic ear infections (very common)
- Sign language (and sign language modifications)
- Speech reading
- Face-to-face communication systems
- Speech therapy
There are three main types of hearing loss, which are conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss takes place when the problem occurs in conducting sound waves anywhere along the route through the outer ear, tympanic membrane (eardrum), or middle ear (ossicles). Sensorineural hearing loss in which the root cause lies in the inner ear or sensory organ (cochlea and associated structures) or the vestibulochlear nerve (cranial nerve VIII), and accounts for about 90% of reported hearing loss. Mixed hearing loss is a combination of the two.
There are a variety of ways that deaf individuals communicate with others. Without being able to hear yourself speak, it can be hard for those individuals who are deaf to speak. The methods vary, depending on the cause of deafness, the age of onset, backgrounds, and education. Some of the common ways include: 
For Rebekah (no last name given), her parents were told not to sign with her, and she would spend hours at speech therapy. Her parents were instructed this so that Rebekah would be raised as a "hearing" person, however she was never able to be "hearing" because she was born profoundly deaf. She could never really understand speech and could not hear anything with her analogue hearing aids. Deafness was especially tough on her, because her family was very musical, so they felt it was a huge loss having a deaf child and furthermore were very unsupportive of Rebekah. She was also bullied at school for having a funny speech, not being able to 'hear' properly and for not being able to learn like other students in the classroom. She was seen as the dumb deaf girl, and it was very hard on her and very isolating. And because they were told not to teach her, Rebekah did not learn sign language until an older age, but rather would only go to speech therapy. But she hated this, as it was very tiring, and without the support, understanding and ability to help Rebekah from her family, she grew up isolated and deprived. Her "auditory" skills got worse over time, and she couldn't even lip read anymore and became to tired to try to "hear". In this way, sign language helped Rebekah a great deal. It helped to give her the opportunity to actually be able to communicate, and she also felt like she had a place within the deaf community alongside others who also signed. Today she is apart of the "Deaf and Proud" organization, and she has accepted her identity as deaf, even though others view her as "different" within society. Today, Rebekah is a mother of 3 deaf children and 1 hearing child, and she wanted to change the future for her children. She wants her children to experience life in a positive and understanding perspective, a perspective where those in society see and understand that hearing loss is not just an issue surrounding the inability to hear. People with hearing loss, including Rebekah, experience many things such as isolation, deprivation, mental health, not knowing their identity, and most importantly lack of access to services. Rebekah wants to change the mentality surround deafness, and it is important for her to see diversity among all of us with hearing loss, and says that she will stand united for the future of her generation and the people around her.
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