Hard of Hearing

There is a long history relating to the terminology used to describe people who have various hearing abilities. Currently, the term hard of hearing is the preferred terminology used to describe people whose hearing ability ranges from mild hearing difficulty to severe hearing difficulty. Every person is different, and the ways in which people choose to label themselves will depend on a variety of factors, including geographic region, degree of hearing ability, age, cultural background, educational background, and identification with the Deaf and hard of hearing communities. One reason many people prefer the term hard of hearing over terms such as hearing impairment or hearing loss is that the term hard of hearing is seen as being more positive than other terms. Most people who ...