Information taken from old Hearing Concern website, before its merger with LINK
Hearing impairment: Terminology
This is a difficult area, and it's always changing. It's important to remember that we all have our own preferences for what we consider to be acceptable terminology to describe our particular hearing loss.
It's always helpful - for both hearing and deaf people - to come back to the basic principle: why is terminology important? What sort of effect will using negative terminology have on hearing and deaf people?
The aim of using appropriate terminology is, of course, to avoid offending the deaf or hard-of-hearing person. It's also to avoid negative labelling or stereotyping of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
Terms which may be acceptable to the majority of deaf and hard-of-hearing people include:
deaf
hard of hearing
hearing loss
partially deaf
hearing-impaired
partially hearing
tinnitus (a person with tinnitus)
deafened.
Terms which are NOT acceptable to the majority of deaf and hard-of-hearing people include:
deaf and dumb
handicapped
deaf mute
Acceptable terminology
'deaf'
This can be used as a general term to describe people over the whole range of hearing loss. A person in this group may or may not be a member of the Deaf community (see below).
'Deaf'
With a capital D, this usually refers to people who may consider themselves to be members of the Deaf community and to be part of a cultural or linguistic minority. Most members of the Deaf community will use British Sign Language as their first or preferred language.
'hard of hearing'
This term may be used to describe a person who has some level of hearing loss, mainly older people. A hard-of-hearing person may have had a hearing loss since childhood, or have acquired it later on in life. The majority of hard-of-hearing people communicate using speech, possibly with a hearing aid and lipreading. Many hard-of-hearing people identify culturally with hearing people, although this may depend on the age at which they lost their hearing.
'deafened'
This term may be used to describe someone who became profoundly deaf as an adult, either suddenly or progressively, after having acquired spoken and written language. A deafened person gets little benefit from a hearing aid and relies mainly on lipreading for communication. Most deafened people identify mainly with the hearing world, although they may feel lost between the two worlds.
'partially deaf'
This term is used generally to describe a person with some degree of hearing loss, usually moderate or severe.
'partially hearing'
This term may be used to describe a person who has a moderate to severe hearing loss.
'hearing loss'
This term is used to describe the level of someone's hearing loss.
'hearing-impaired'
This is a general term that can be used to describe a deaf or hard-of-hearing person. It is not acceptable to all deaf and hard-of-hearing people, as it may seem to carry the stigma of 'handicap'. Members of the Deaf community may not feel happy with this term as they may not consider themselves to have an 'impairment'.
Terminology that is NOT acceptable;
'deaf and dumb', 'deaf mute'
These terms should NOT be used. They are offensive, and deaf people dislike this inaccurate description of the effects of deafness. From the response they often get from hearing people, deaf people are all too aware that their speech may suggest limited intelligence. The word 'dumb' implies stupidity. This is wrong. Deaf people are neither more nor less intelligent than anyone else.
'handicapped'
This term is not acceptable, as it carries many negative implications. 'Handicapped' comes from the term 'cap in hand', an idea that many disabled people would find offensive.