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Hearing Impairment and
the Deaf Movement
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By and large, the deaf culture rejects terms
related to hearing impairment i.e. “hearing impaired” , although it can be argued that the
phrase adequately describes the condition.
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Terms such as “deaf” and “hard of hearing”
are preferred since these words do not insinuate that people unable to
hear are handicapped or “less than” in some
manner.
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This critical difference in nomenclature is but one of the significant outcomes of the social movement known as deaf culture. One of the movements core principles is that deafness is a unique human experience rather than a form of disability.
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There are two distinct types of
hearing impairment, or
deafness: conductive
hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.
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The former is a result of physical
damage or improper operation
of the pathways that carry sound
from the outer ear to the eardrum and through the middle
ear.
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Sensorineural hearing loss tends to be related
to the inner ear, the cochlea in particular,
which is responsible for the conversion of
conduction, or physical vibrations, into neural
signals, which are electrical in nature.
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Deaf people are incredibly inclusive and
value the power, camaraderie and support of the group. The ability to sign is a unifying force
for the culture and is celebrated in a number
of ways.