Category: Hearing Loss

Welcome to our list of Start ASL hearing loss articles! While we do not believe in defining Deaf people by their hearing loss (see our Deaf Culture Essentials article for more information), we do have related articles for informational purposes.

Start here with our main article: Hearing Loss or Deafness Gain?


DeafNation World Expo in Las Vegas August 2022

Joel Barish hosted the 4th DeafNation World Expo & Conference at the Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 1-4, 2022. About 15,000 Deaf people from around the world, including Deaf celebrities such as Daniel Durant, Troy Kotsur, Renca Dunn, and Wawa attended the event. There were fourteen sponsors and three partners. […]

Where do you start when you want to learn American Sign Language (ASL)?

When you make the decision to learn ASL, your first though is probably to jump online and find out where you can learn. Some people use social media, and others look for a course to get them through more than just how to say hello. American Sign Language (ASL) is one of a kind. It […]

Different Types of Interpreters: Education Interpreters

There are different types of interpreters. In the article, “Certified Deaf Interpreter Interprets at Coachella Festival” I talked about ASL interpreters for concerts and festivals; however, in this particular article, I emphasized on CDI. CDI stands for Certified Deaf Interpreter. You are probably wondering how can a Deaf person interpret if he or she cannot […]

How to Raise a Deafblind Child?

For many parents, it is hard enough to hear from the doctor’s that their child is deaf or to find out your child becomes deaf later in his or her life. Imagine if the doctor tells you the news that your child is Deafblind or your child looses his or her hearing later in life. […]

Cued Speech

Cued speech is not American Sign Language. Cued speech and ASL are two totally different forms of communication. People who communicate in ASL usually turn off the voice. Also, ASL has its own grammar, sentence structure, idioms, phrases and jokes. ASL is more widely used in the Deaf Community. There are often ASL/Deaf events where […]

Deaf People’s Experiences at the Doctors

D/deaf people have struggled to get ASL interpreters to attend doctor’s appointments and this has caused a lot of frustration for D/deaf people. Every time a D/deaf person request an interpreter, either the interpreter does not show up at the appointments on time or at all. It is improving now, but sometimes D/deaf people still […]

American Sign Language vs Israeli Sign Language

Did you know American Sign Language is not universal? In the article, “Is American Sign Language Universal”, it talked about whether or not American Sign Language is universal, in other words, ASL is used in all countries all over the world. The answer is no. American Sign Language is only unique to the US whereas […]

Language Deprivation in Deaf Children

A person shared that she heard so many stories of parents being told that their baby or child has failed their hearing tests and how sorry the doctor is to inform them. Imagine being told a newborn baby has hearing loss, or that they aren’t “perfect”. It is devastating for some parents to receive news […]

Two Technologies to Help the Hearing Impaired

by Lakin Getz | 29 September 2021 Many technological advances have been made throughout the history of deafness. This technology can help everyday life, specific activities, and interpreting. Two new areas of technology advances have developed in hearing aids and cochlear implants. While these two are both used as a part of a person’s physical […]

Our Top 7 Deaf Dating Sites

Deaf dating sites are popular among many in the deaf and hard of hearing communities. However, there are a lot of niche dating sites out there that it can be difficult to find the good ones. We have found the sites below to be the most popular ones out of about 25+ that you may […]

Deaf Relationships and Dating

There are a lot of interracial dating of various ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, and languages. This concept is very similar to dating within the Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing communities. Many people may wonder how that works. Well, if a Deaf person dates a Deaf person, there is no problem with dealing with cultural differences […]

Deaf Schools Versus Mainstream Schools

There are two different major types of schooling for Deaf people. Deaf schools also known as Deaf institutes are specially for Deaf students only. This means the communication and teaching are in American Sign Language (ASL) and all the students are Deaf. Mainstream schools means that deaf kids are put in classrooms with other hearing […]

Cochlear Implants – A Cultural Threat

This article discusses a common Deaf cultural view of cochlear implants. Not everyone shares these views and this article is for educational purposes only. The company’s name used throughout the article has been omitted. A cochlear implant is a new mechanism for hearing when a hearing aid is not sufficient. A hearing aid amplifies sound […]

Hearing Loss or Deafness Gain?

Hearing loss is more like “Deafness Gain” to people who are part of Deaf Culture. The loss of hearing is actually a very small part of being a Deaf person. However, it’s very useful to study the implications of deafness when you’re becoming involved in the Deaf community. Most hearing people only see the lack […]

Closed Captioning for the Deaf

Lip-reading is rather unsuccessful (only an average of 20% understanding). Closed captioning, however, takes all the lip-reading out of watching television! You have probably watched television. And you have probably pressed a button on your remote that makes white words with a black background pop up on your screen (either on purpose or by accident). […]

Deaf Alarm Clock

Many people wonder how deaf people are able to wake up if they can’t hear an alarm. However, with the advent of new technology for the deaf, waking up is no longer a problem for deaf people. A deaf alarm clock is an alarm clock that is usually hooked up to a louder alarm, a […]

Deaf Technology – Opening Doors for the Deaf

Deaf people didn’t have many careers choices a few decades ago. They would usually find themselves working in trade jobs, non-profit work, or as teachers at schools for the deaf. But now, only a short time later, many doors have opened not only because of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but because of deaf […]

Deaf VP (Videophone Directory)

Deaf Videophone Directory Deaf VP was a Deaf Videophone directory created by Sorenson. Videophones are telephones with a video screen. They enable deaf people to call each other (or a relay service) and use American Sign Language, their first language, to communicate. Videophones themselves, however, haven’t become very popular. The reason for this is that […]

Ear Anatomy – Tiny Pieces with Big Jobs

Ear anatomy is not as complex as you might think. There are only a few anatomical parts that make hearing possible. However, if there is something wrong with any one of those small pieces, you can lose your hearing completely. The ear is made up of three parts–the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. […]

Hearing Dogs for the Deaf

It’s not uncommon to see a dog leading and assisting a blind person. You have probably seen a few of those trained dogs during the course of your life. But have you ever noticed a dog helping a deaf person? It’s true – dogs can be trained to assist deaf people. These hearing dogs are […]

The Hearing Test and Why Deaf People Hate It

While a hearing test seems like a normal part of having a baby, it is also a source of oppression for many deaf people. In this article, I will describe the procedures for testing hearing, and then share with you why deaf people find them oppressive. The Hearing Test for Infants Newborn infant hearing tests […]

Psychological Testing of Deaf Children: A Brief Comparison of Services and Viewpoints

by Anonymous As a doctor holding a Ph.D. in school psychology who has previously specialized in assessment of the intellectual and educational abilities of children, I have learned much about the importance of, and make every attempt to utilize, cultural sensitivity when assessing students who have been referred for evaluation who are outside of the […]

Going to the Movies While Deaf: The Movement for Widespread Open Captioning

by Caitlin Epstein (09/10/2020) In 2018, model, actor, and Deaf activist Nyle DiMarco answered the question “how do deaf people go to the movies?” DiMarco became a well-known public figure after participating in and winning the 22nd cycle of the show America’s Next Top Model, and he has since gone on to compete on Dancing […]

Teletypewriters and Early Deaf Communication

Back in the day, deaf people would drive all the way to their friends’ homes to talk to them. Then, the TTY was invented in the 1960’s. Back then, it was called a TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). A teletypewriter looks like a word processor. It has a keyboard and a display screen. They […]

Impact of Deafness on Intergenerational Communication

by Beth Cogen | 22 December 2020 There are two main constructions of deafness: deafness as a medical condition, and deafness as a linguistic and cultural minority (Valentine and Skelton 2007). In a clinical setting, deafness is understood as a disability, and medical professionals emphasize different technologies and strategies that allow deaf people to function […]