What is the difference between Deaf and Hard of Hearing?

Doctors will define someone as having hearing loss when they cannot hear well at all. Hard of hearing is a phrase that refers to someone with mild to severe hearing loss; however, with these people, some hearing capability is still there. Deafness, on the other hand, refers to a profound hearing loss. Deaf people have very little hearing or non at all. Deaf individuals or persons who are hard of hearing can communicate with each other in a plethora of different ways. This scenario includes the American sign language and lip-reading. A couple of the indicators of being hard of hearing asking others to repeat themselves and agitation because you cannot hear well. Age can cause you to be hard of hearing, and so can certain genetic factors. On the other hand, you can become deaf in some accident, or it could be for generic reasons.

It might not be easy to differentiate between hard of hearing and deaf. However, the two terms are measured or determined based on the degree of hearing loss a person suffers. The range of hearing loss can be measured, and it is denoted by dB HL. When the range of hearing loss is 10 to 15dB HL, the hearing loss degree is still considered normal. When the range is from 16 to 25, it is considered to be of a slight degree. Also, when the range is from 26-40, it is considered to be of mild degree. When the rage is from 41 to 55, the hearing loss degree is considered moderate. When the range is from 56 tom70, it is considered moderately severe. When the range is from 71 to 90, the hearing loss degree is now said to be severe. But as a level from 90 upward, the hearing loss degree is considered profound. Hence, it is only at this last range of 91 upward that someone is considered deaf, but when it has not gotten to this level, one can still be said to be hard of hearing.

A person who is deaf is someone who cannot hear. This means that hearing loss is so severe that people will not hear anything at all no matter how close they are to an object or a person that is causing a lot of noise. Someone who is “hard of hearing” may not have the full functions of the sense of hearing but would still be able to have some useful hearing qualities. There are some who will still be able to sense vibrations. There are also some who can somewhat distinguish spoken languages depending on the situation and the amplification of the sounds that are being heard.