Deafness and hearing loss

1. Deafness and Hearing
Loss
By: Amy F. Cabfeo

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What Does
It Mean to
Be Deaf?

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Deafness and hearing loss can
mean different things to
different people. People use
various words and terms to
describe how they view their
own deafness or hearing loss.

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The general term 'deaf people' can be
used to describe people with any degree of
hearing loss.
Being deaf can mean:
*Experiencing difficulty with being able to
hear.
*Not being able to hear certain sounds –
high pitch, low pitch, sounds nearby or far
away.

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This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.
There can be different degrees or levels of
deafness:
Mildly deaf - People may find it difficult to
follow speech in noisy situations.
Moderately deaf - People may need to use
hearing aids.
Severely deaf - People will usually need hearing
aids and may rely on lip reading or sign language
to communicate. Sign language may be the
person’s preferred method of communication.
Profoundly deaf - Sign language may be the
person’s preferred method
of communication.

8. What cause
Deafness?
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9. Some people lose their hearing as they get older.
Some people may lose their hearing due to an illness.
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What Causes
Deafness?
Some people are deaf from birth.

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How Do Deaf People Communicate?
People who are deaf can communicate in many different
ways such as using:
Hearing aids, hearing bands, induction loops, cochlear implant
Sign language, fingerspelling
Lip reading
Facial expressions and gestures
Written language, e.g. Email, text, letter.

11. Sign Language
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Deaf or hearing impaired people may use sign language to communicate.
Sign language is used by some
deaf people as a way of
communicating with others. It is a
visual language which uses
gestures, facial expression and
body language. Hearing people
also use sign language to
communicate with their deaf friends
or family members.

12. Fingerspelling
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Deaf or hearing impaired people may use fingerspelling to communicate.
Fingerspelling is a method of spelling out
words using handshapes to represent each
letter of the alphabet.
In sign language, fingerspelling is usually
used to spell proper nouns and places or if
the person doesn’t know the sign for a
word.
Right-handed sign for the letter ‘a’
non-dominant hand
dominant hand

13. Sign Language Manual Alphabet
Sign language is
not a universal
language and
varies between
countries. There
are even
differences in sign
language between
cities and regions,
like accents in
spoken language!
Colours and
numbers are a
good example of
where there are
several signs that
could be used for
the same word!

14. Hearing Loss Hearing loss is a disability
characterized by the incapacity to hear
sounds.
Hearing Loss

15. What is mild hearing loss?
On average, the most quiet sounds that people can hear
withtheirbettereararebetween25and40dB.People who suffer
from mild hearing loss have some difficulties keeping up with
conversations,especially in noisy surroundings.
Mild Hearing Loss

16. What is moderate hearing loss?
People who suffer from moderate hearing loss have difficulty
keeping up with conversation when not using a hearing aid.
Moderate Hearing Loss

17. What is severe hearing loss?
People who suffer from severe hearing loss will benefit from
powerful hearing aids but often they rely heavily on lip-reading
even when they are using hearing aids. Some also use
sign language
Severe Hearing Loss

18. People who suffer from profound hearing loss are very hard of
hearing and rely mostly on lip-reading,and/or signlanguage.
Profound Hearing Loss

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Types of Hearing
Loss
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20. Causes of Hearing
Loss
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Malformation of outer ear, ear canal, or middle ear structures
Fluid in the middle ear from colds
Ear infection
Allergies
Poor Eustachian tube function
Perforated eardrum
Benign tumors
Impacted earwax
Infection in the ear canal
Foreign body in the ear
Otosclerosis

22. As an educator of the deaf, I strongly believe that
we must understand the history and culture of
our deaf identity first in order to be empowered
and make the world a better place. Many deaf
students across the country and world do not
have access to the culture and history of deaf
people due to many different factors such as
access to a language. The environment of our
deaf students needs to be language rich and
filled with deaf role mentors. When they develop
an understanding of their deaf identity and
actively use an accessible language, they will
thrive in this world without any doubt.