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Deafness

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"Deaf" redirects here. For other uses, see Deaf (disambiguation).

Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition.[1] In this context it is written with a lower case d. It later came to be used in a cultural context to refer to those who primarily communicate through sign language regardless of hearing ability, often capitalized as Deaf and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign.[2][3] The two definitions overlap but are not identical, as hearing loss includes cases that are not severe enough to impact spoken language comprehension, while cultural Deafness includes hearing people who use sign language, such as children of deaf adults.

Medical context

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Main article: Hearing loss
Stylized image of an ear crossed out with a white bar on a blue background
The International Symbol for Deafness is used to identify facilities with hearing augmentation services, especially assistive listening devices.[4]

In a medical context, deafness is defined as a degree of hearing difference such that a person is unable to understand speech, even in the presence of amplification.[1] In profound deafness, even the loudest sounds produced by an audiometer (an instrument used to measure hearing by producing pure tone sounds through a range of frequencies) may not be perceived by the person. In total deafness, no sounds at all, regardless of amplification or method of production, can be heard.

Neurologically, language is processed in the same areas of the brain whether one is deaf or hearing. The left hemisphere of the brain processes linguistic patterns whether by signed languages or by spoken languages.[5]

Deafness can be broken down into four different types of hearing loss:

All of these forms of hearing loss impair a person's hearing so they are not able to perceive or interpret sounds correctly. These different types of hearing loss occur in different parts of the ear, which make it difficult for the information being heard to get sent to the brain properly.

A technician places a new hearing aid in an older man's ear
Hearing aids help people who struggle to understand normal conversations.

For each of these types, there are four different levels or amounts of hearing loss. The first level is mild hearing loss. This is when someone is still able to hear noises, but it is more difficult to hear the softer sounds. The second level is moderate hearing loss, and this is when someone can hear almost nothing when someone is talking to them at a normal volume. The next level is severe hearing loss. Severe hearing loss is when someone can not hear any sounds when they are being produced at a normal level, and they can only hear minimal sounds that are being produced at a loud level. The final level is profound hearing loss, which is when someone is not able to hear any sounds except for very loud ones.[6]

Millions of people globally live with deafness or hearing impairments. The 2005 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) indicated that fewer than 1 in 20 Americans are deaf or hard of hearing at a level that makes normal conversations difficult to hear; more than half of these people are over retirement age.[7]

a red device built into a wall. The top half is a speaker and the bottom half is a red light
This fire alarm uses a flashing red light to alert people who cannot hear.

Several solutions are available for many people with hearing impairments. Hearing aids are a common device. Additionally, people may use devices that use blinking lights instead of noises for alarm clocks or other notifications.

A baby with a cochlear implant
Cochlear implants can be chosen at any age, including in babies.

Cochlear implants are an option for children and adults with severe or profound hearing loss. Cochlear implants are surgically placed devices that stimulate the cochlear nerve in order to help the person hear. A cochlear implant is used instead of hearing aids in order to help when someone has difficulties understanding speech.[8] For children, the younger they are at the time of implantation, the better their auditory skill and perception.[9] Babies with confirmed bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss may begin the surgical evaluation process for implantation as early as six months, with the US officially allowing the surgery to take place as early as nine months of age.[9] Children with other medical problems or other types of hearing loss may be considered at a slightly older age.[9] Parents sometimes have difficulty deciding to get cochlear implants for their child. Many felt a sense of urgency, and, in the end, most parents felt it was beneficial for their child.[10]

Cultural context

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Main article: Deaf culture
The flag of the deaf community made by Arnaud Balard

In a cultural context, Deaf culture refers to a tight-knit cultural group of people whose primary language is signed, and who practice social and cultural norms which are distinct from those of the surrounding hearing community. This community does not automatically include all those who are clinically or legally deaf, nor does it exclude every hearing person. According to Baker and Padden, it includes any person who "identifies him/herself as a member of the Deaf community, and other members accept that person as a part of the community",[11] an example being children of deaf adults with normal hearing ability. It includes the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication.[2][3] While deafness is often included within the umbrella of disability, members of the Deaf community tend to view deafness as a difference in human experience or itself as a language minority.[12][13]

Many non-disabled people continue to assume that deaf people have no autonomy and fail to provide people with support beyond hearing aids, which is something that must be addressed. Different non-governmental organizations around the world have created programs towards closing the gap between deaf and non-disabled people in developing countries. As children, deaf people learn literacy differently than hearing children. They learn to speak and write, whereas hearing children naturally learn to speak and eventually learn to write later on.[14] The Quota International organization with headquarters in the United States provided immense educational support in the Philippines, where it started providing free education to deaf children in the Leganes Resource Center for the Deaf. The Sounds Seekers British organization also provided support by offering audiology maintenance technology, to better assist those who are deaf in hard-to-reach places. The Nippon Foundation also supports deaf students at Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, through sponsoring international scholarships programs to encourage students to become future leaders in the deaf community. The more aid these organizations give to the deaf people, the more opportunities and resources disabled people must speak up about their struggles and goals that they aim to achieve. When more people understand how to leverage their privilege for the marginalized groups in the community, then we can build a more inclusive and tolerant environment for the generations that are yet to come.[2][3]

History

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Main article: Deaf history

The first known record of sign language in history comes from Plato's Cratylus, written in the fifth century BCE. In a dialogue on the "correctness of names", Socrates says, "Suppose that we had no voice or tongue, and wanted to communicate with one another, should we not, like the deaf and dumb, make signs with the hands and head and the rest of the body?"[15] His belief that deaf people possessed an innate intelligence for language put him at odds with his student Aristotle, who said, "Those who are born deaf all become senseless and incapable of reason", and that "it is impossible to reason without the ability to hear".

This pronouncement would reverberate through the ages and it was not until the 17th century when manual alphabets began to emerge, as did various treatises on deaf education, such as Reducción de las letras y arte para enseñar a hablar a los mudos ('Reduction of letters and art for teaching mute people to speak'), written by Juan Pablo Bonet in Madrid in 1620, and Didascalocophus, or, The deaf and dumb mans tutor, written by George Dalgarno in 1680.

In 1760, French philanthropic educator Charles-Michel de l'Épée opened the world's first free school for the deaf. The school won approval for government funding in 1791 and became known as the "Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets à Paris".[16] The school inspired the opening of what is today known as the American School for the Deaf, the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States, and indirectly, Gallaudet University, the world's first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard of hearing, and to date, the only higher education institution in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students.

Schooling

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Parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children often encounter difficulties when choosing an educational setting for their child. They may consider the needs and abilities of the child, how the school can make accommodations for the child, and the school environment itself.[17] Both the child and the parent may benefit from trial and error with different schools, to identify the best available environment.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Elzouki AY (2012). Textbook of clinical pediatrics (2 ed.). Berlin: Springer. p. 602. ISBN 9783642022012. Archived from the original on 2015-12-14.
  2. ^ a b c Padden, Carol A.; Humphries, Tom (Tom L.) (2005). Inside Deaf Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-674-01506-7.
  3. ^ a b c Jamie Berke (9 February 2010). "Deaf Culture - Big D Small D". About.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  4. ^ "International Deafness Symbol". Deafness Forum Australia. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  5. ^ Campbell, Ruth; et al. (29 June 2007). "Sign Language and the Brain: A Review". Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. pp. 3–20. doi:10.1093/deafed/enm035. PMID 17602162. Retrieved 14 Dec 2020.
  6. ^ "Hearing Loss in Children". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 21 June 2021.
  7. ^ Mitchell, R. E. (2005-10-12). "How Many Deaf People Are There in the United States? Estimates From the Survey of Income and Program Participation". Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 11 (1): 112–119. doi:10.1093/deafed/enj004. ISSN 1081-4159. PMID 16177267.
  8. ^ "Cochlear Implant Surgery". 18 July 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Gifford, René H. (2024), Young, Nancy M.; Iler Kirk, Karen (eds.), "Cochlear Implant Candidacy in Children: Audiological Considerations", Pediatric Cochlear Implantation, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 77–78, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-67188-3_2, ISBN 978-3-031-67187-6
  10. ^ Hyde, M.; Punch, R.; Komesaroff, L. (2010). "Coming to a Decision About Cochlear Implantation: Parents Making Choices for their Deaf Children". Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. pp. 162–178. doi:10.1093/deafed/enq004. PMID 20139157. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  11. ^ Baker, Charlotte; Carol Padden (1978). American Sign Language: A Look at Its Story, Structure and Community.
  12. ^ Ladd, Paddy (2003). Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood. Multilingual Matters. p. 502. ISBN 978-1-85359-545-5.
  13. ^ Lane, Harlan L.; Richard Pillard; University Press (2011). The People of the Eye: Deaf Ethnicity and Ancestry. Oxford University Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-19-975929-3.
  14. ^ Wong, Fay; Tang, Gladys; Li, Qun; Yiu, Chris Kun-Man (2021). "Literacy Learning of Deaf and Hearing Preschoolers in a Sign Bilingual, Coenrollment Setting in Hong Kong". American Annals of the Deaf. 166 (4): 527–553. doi:10.1353/aad.2021.0034. ISSN 1543-0375. PMID 35185037.
  15. ^ "Cratylus, by Plato". gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  16. ^ "Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-10-10.
  17. ^ Stephens, Nicole M.; Duncan, Jill (2022). "Decision-Making Processes of Caregivers Choosing an Educational Setting for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing". American Annals of the Deaf. 167 (4): 414–430. doi:10.1353/aad.2022.0042. PMID 36533476. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
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Wikiversity has learning resources about Global Audiology
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