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Resources — About Deafness

About Deafness

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The information on the right will provide you with a breakdown of the definitions of different types of deafness.  It should help to give you a general idea about the terms used to describe deafness and some of the common experiences and barriers deaf people face in their day-to-day lives.

The information in this website may differ from individual views on deafness.  This website provides a general summery of information relating to Deafness.  There are many different personal views of Deafness that are based on personal and life experiences.

If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact us as we will be more than happy to discuss deafness in more detail.

In this Section:

Introduction to Deafness

Introduction to Deafness

In everyday terms deafness is viewed as being unable to hear and although this is basically correct there is much more in depth information relating to deafness that many people are unaware of.

The differences between deaf people

The differences between deaf people

Deaf people are not all the same, some deaf people will choose to use speech and some will use sign language. The majority of deaf people will use subtitles, speech to text, textphones and environmental aids.

Barriers

Barriers

Deafness affects an individuals' ability to communicate effectively within the hearing world everyday. Communication is a two way process but for deaf people who may not speak good English or cannot read English well, explaining what they want to say is difficult.

Language and Communication

Common communication preferances for all range of deafness are:

British Sign Language (BSL)

Sign Supported English (SSE)

Lip-reading

Technical Aids to Communication (TAC)

Technical Aids to Communication (TAC)

Most hard of hearing people do not depend entirely on lip-reading, they will use hearing aids, amplified phones and other equipment to enhance their quality of life.

Experience being a deaf Person

Experience being a deaf person

If you are a hearing person then using ear plugs for a day is an interesting way to find out more about what it is like to be deaf . It is worth remembering that having ear plugs on for the day will not make you fully deaf but will allow you to experience quite a high degree of hearing loss.

Deaf Culture

Deaf people have their own history, arts, sports, language and much, much more with a strong base of creative individuals and professionals regularly exploring and developing innovations in the deaf world.

Finding out more

Hopefully this information has given you a good idea of how diverse and varied deafness is and has introduced you to ways you can improve and develop communication with deaf people and those with varying degrees of hearing loss.