hard of hearing

T he term may be used to refer to people who have a mild to moderate hearing loss that may or may not be corrected with amplification. Those who are hard of hearing usually use speech to communicate.

Deaf and hard of hearing became the official terms recommended by the World Federation of the Deaf in 1991. Many people in the Deaf community and organizations, including the National Association of the Deaf, support these terms. Some people with mild or moderate hearing loss may affiliate themselves with the Deaf community and prefer the term Deaf.  Alternatively, some who are deaf and don’t have a cultural affiliation to the Deaf community may prefer the term hard of hearing.

Hard of hearing is almost always acceptable. However, use the term the person prefers.

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