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Deafness and Hearing Impairments

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there are approximately 20 million Americans who have some degree of hearing impairment, ranging from mild to profound. Some people have hearing losses of the outer or middle ear that can be assisted through the use of hearing aids or surgery, while others have more severe hearing losses of the inner ear, which produce sound distortions.

While there are no clear figures, the National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 550,000 Americans are completely deaf. Deafness can be caused by a number of different factors, including genetics, viral infections, tumors, strokes, and prolonged exposure to high noise levels, among other causes. The Medical Reference Library states that minor decreases in hearing, especially of higher frequencies, are normal after age 20. Some nerve deaf-ness (or loss of hearing) affects 1 out of 5 people by age 55. It usually comes on gradually and rarely ends in complete deafness.

It is important to understand that for people who are deaf, the major issue is not their inability to hear, but the challenges they experience in communicating with hearing people. Many persons who are deaf learn to use their voices in speech class and prefer to communicate verbally. Others choose to communicate in a variety of other ways, including sign language, speech reading (also known as lip reading), cued speech and writing.

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