Types & Effects of Deafness
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[Edit]1 Definition of Hearing Impaired
The term Hearing Impaired means a person who has lost hearing ability in one or both ears, and as a result, cannot fully function in an environment where verbal communication is heavily used. Because many things that are not functioning correctly are said to be 'impaired', people came to describe those with hearing difficulties was being 'Hearing Impaired'.
Hearing impaired does not refer only to D/deaf people, but is a catch-all phrase used to describe anyone with less than perfect hearing. There are millions of people that, while they are not totally deaf, neither can they fully function in all hearing environments due to the loss of hearing levels in one or both of their ears. The term often used to describe these persons is 'Hard of Hearing'. In fact, another reason the Deaf Culture does not like the term 'Hearing Impaired' is because it's used to lump both those who consider themselves "Culturally Deaf" and those who consider themselves as having a hearing loss disability into the same category. It also does nothing to explain the entirely different sets of characteristics that is displayed within the group labelled "hearing impaired".
[Edit]2 Use of the term 'Hearing Impaired'
Many magazine and television advertisements will have a message for how they can be contacted by the 'Hearing Impaired'. Some have begun to change this language recently to 'Deaf and Hard of Hearing', usually due to lobbying by deaf advocates. Many churches and stadiums and other public venues still have special sections and devices that are, according to the signs and literature they display, for the 'Hearing Impaired'. Once again, attention raised by the Deaf Culture advocates is slowly changing this; now some places display signs offering 'Deaf Services'.
Most people in the Deaf community do not like the term 'hearing impaired'. Many D/deaf and hard of hearing people look at it as almost as bad as calling them '[http://www.deafhub.com/index.php?id=1064&no_cache=1&tx_drwiki_pi1[keyword]=Deaf/Mute Deaf and Dumb]'. The problem is with the word 'impaired'. Some D/deaf and hard of hearing people consider the usage of the word as a constant reminder that the 'hearing world' thinks there is something 'wrong' with deaf people that needs 'fixing'. For this reason most people in the Deaf Culture prefer to be referred to as simply 'Deaf'. Some Deaf advocates view the term 'Hearing Impaired' as being an example of what they call 'Sound Discrimination' or 'Audism', where the Hearing World chooses to refer to the Deaf World in a way that makes the Deaf World feel inferior.
