Deafness Totally Explained

The word deaf is used differently in different contexts, and there's some controversy over its meaning and implications. In scientific and medical terms, deafness generally refers to a physical condition characterized by lack of sensitivity to sound. Notated as deaf with a lowercase d, this refers to the audiological experience of someone who is partially or wholly lacking hearing. In legal terms, deafness is defined by degree of hearing loss. These degrees include profound or total deafness (90 dB - 120 dB or more of hearing loss), severe (60 dB - 90 dB), moderate (30 dB - 60 dB), and mild deafness (10 dB - 30 dB of hearing loss). Both severe and moderate deafness can be referred to as partial deafness or as hard of hearing, while mild deafness is usually called hard of hearing.
Within the Deaf community, the term "Deaf" is often capitalized when written, and it refers to a tight-knit cultural group of people whose primary language is signed, and who practice social and cultural norms which are distinct from those of the surrounding hearing community. This community doesn't automatically include all those who are clinically or legally deaf, nor does it exclude every hearing person. According to Baker and Padden, it includes any person or persons who "identifies him/herself as a member of the Deaf community, and other members accept that person as a part of the community."
Most deaf people, at least in developed countries, have some knowledge of the dominant language of their country. This may include the ability to lip read, to speak, or to read and write. Having some knowledge of both the dominant language and sign language is called bimodal bilingualism.

Demographics

The global deaf population is roughly estimated to be 0.1% of the total population (1 in 1000). The figure is likely to be higher in developing countries than developed countries due to restricted access to health care, and, in some cultures, due to the high rate of intrafamilial marriages. The great majority of people with less than average hearing are elderly or developed hearing loss after leaving school. According to the U.S. National Center for Health statistics, approximately three quarters of deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans experienced the onset of hearing loss after age 18.

Causes of deafness

Genetic disorders:
- Osteogenesis imperfecta
- Leopard syndrome (multiple lentigines syndrome)
- Otosclerosis
- Robinson type ectodermal dysplasia
- Cockayne syndrome
- Bjorn pili torti and deafness syndrome
- Multiple synostosis syndrome
- Hunter syndrome
- Taybi oto-palato-digital syndrome
- Hereditary nephritis
- Mohr syndrome
- Hurler syndrome
- Waardenburg syndrome
- Kartagener syndrome
- Fronto-metaphyseal dysplasia syndrome
- Morquio syndrome
- Trisomy 13 S
- Treacher Collins syndrome
- Stickler syndrome
Congenital:
- Rubella syndrome
- Congenital atresia of the external auditory canal
- Congenital cytomegalovirus
- Congenital perilymphatic fistula
- Fetal methyl mercury effects
- Fetal iodine deficiency effects
Infectious:
- Meningitis
- Mumps
- Measles
- Ear infection (otitis media)
- Scarlet fever
Traumatic:
- Traumatic perforation of the eardrum
- Skull fracture (temporal bone)
- Acoustic trauma such as from explosions, fireworks, gunfire, rock concerts, and earphones
- Barotrauma (differences in pressure)
Toxic:
Age-related:
- Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)
Occupational:
- Any occupation with exposure to loud noises on a continuous day-to-day basis can result in hearing loss due to nerve end damage. Increased attention to conditions in the work environment has markedly decreased the likelihood of work-related hearing loss. See Noise-induced hearing loss.
Other:
- Meniere's disease
- Acoustic neuroma
Temporary hearing loss can be caused by:
- The build-up of wax in the ear canal
- Foreign body lodged in the ear canal
- Injury to the head
- Allergy
- Blocked Eustachian tubes
- Scarred or perforated eardrum
- Ear infections (chronic otitis externa, chronic otitis media, malignant otitis externa)
- Reaction to medication such as aminoglycosides, chloroquine, quinidine

Categories of deafness and hearing impairment

These categories may be overlapping. Deafness or hearing impairment may be:

Unilateral – loss of hearing in one ear only

Pre-lingual – deafness at birth or deafness acquired before language is learned

Peri-lingual – deafness acquired while in the midst of learning a first language

Post-lingual – acquired after a language has been learned

Partial – limited hearing loss

Progressive – hearing loss which increases over time

Profound – complete or near-complete inability to hear

Tone deaf – inability to distinguish between relative pitch (in music)

Tinnitus – hearing damage characterized by a high pitched ringing in the ears which drowns out other sounds Age of onset is also a significant factor.

Deaf identity and culture

Within deaf culture, it's asserted that the label is one of identity, not audiological status. It is seen by them as akin to an ethnic division. It describes shared experiences in the world, not only those directly related to sight and sound (the increased awareness of one over the other) but also the cultural experiences that often inevitably follow from that. The term deaf then, used by many of those who are within the category, has little to do with an ability or inability to hear. Because of all this, and many other sociological forces, you'll find some who identify themselves as deaf with much more ability to hear than many who self-identify as hearing or hard of hearing. In print, you can sometimes ascertain that the word is being used to reference the cultural identification because many people now capitalize the word when using it as a cultural label.
   People who are part of Deaf culture typically use a sign language (such as American Sign Language) as their primary language and often emphatically see themselves as not disabled, but rather as members of a cultural or language minority. However, since hearing loss is generally frequency-based rather than amplitude-based, a deaf person's hearing may not be usable, if the normal frequencies of speech lie in the impaired range.
   People with a moderate hearing loss, of about 36–50 dB, generally describe themselves as "partially deaf." Others who were born hearing, but who have partially lost their hearing through illness or injury are "deafened." Those with a slight hearing loss (eg. about 16–35 dB hearing loss), or have lost some of their hearing in old age may prefer an informal term such as "hard of hearing" or "hearing-impaired".
   Those with some functional hearing generally don't take part in the Deaf community, and typically work and socialize with hearing people to the best of their ability. People with all degrees of hearing impairment may encounter discrimination when looking for work, while at their jobs, or when socializing with hearing people.

Other meanings of 'deaf'

Deaf is also used as a colloquialism to refer to a recalcitrant individual or someone unwilling to listen, obey or acknowledge an authority or partner. The third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 provides an example:

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

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