Deafness and Hearing Loss

Deafness is defined as different degrees of hearing loss that people experience at different levels and at different times in their lives. Some are born deaf; some become deaf at a young age; some become deaf at an older age; and others become deaf due to trauma. However, from the Deaf (community of deaf and hard-of-hearing American Sign Language users) cultural perspective, there are hearing people who have lost some of their hearing, as opposed to those who are born without hearing, referred to as deaf person. With deafness comes a loss of status in mainstream societies and a loss of the opportunity to continue to acquire cultural capital. In these respects, whether hearing loss is interpreted through the medical, social, or linguistic model, the ...