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Deafness, hard of hearing, and hearing impairment

There are nearly 9 million people with a hearing loss in the UK, many of whom are either not aware of their hearing loss or try to conceal or hide it. Hearing can be lost in several different ways and to varying degrees:

Some people are deaf from birth.
Some people gradually lose their hearing as they get older.
Others lose their hearing suddenly through illness or accident.

The majority of people who have a hearing loss are older people, who usually notice a gradual age-related reduction and the increasing inability to hear high-pitched sounds. You may not notice this for some time. Both age-related hearing loss and hearing loss due to excessive noise exposure can be gradual, whereas hearing loss that is caused by illness or accident can have a quicker onset.

Hearing loss can affect an individual at any age. Everybody today is exposed to an increased level of noise, partly through environmental factors and partly through loud music, and the number of people losing their hearing in their thirties and forties is increasing. We always advise people to protect their hearing when they are in an environment where the noise level is excessive.

Leeds Society for Deaf and Blind People aims to provide information and advice for people living in Leeds on how you can help yourself by managing your hearing loss in every day life. Remember you are not alone!

Describing deafness

It is important to realise that being deaf or hard of hearing can mean very different things to different people. Some people will feel more comfortable with particular words to describe their own deafness. They might feel quite strongly about terms they do not like being used. We use the following terms:

Deaf people

We use the term deaf people in a general way when we are talking about people with all degrees of deafness.

Hard of hearing people

We use this term to describe people with a mild to severe hearing loss. We quite often use it to describe people who have lost their hearing gradually.

Deafened people

People who were born hearing and became severely or profoundly deaf after learning to speak are often described as deafened.

The Deaf Community

Many deaf people whose first or preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL) consider themselves part of the Deaf Community. They may describe themselves as ‘Deaf’, with a capital D, to emphasise their Deaf identity.

What causes deafness?

There are many reasons why some people are born deaf or hard of hearing or lose their hearing later in life. Sometimes people may lose their hearing temporarily and it comes back when they receive medical treatment. For others, deafness and hearing loss are permanent.

Below are just some of the causes of deafness and hearing loss:

Some people lose their hearing as they grow older. This is known as presbyacusis. It is the commonest type of deafness.
A disease such as mumps or meningitis
Certain drugs, in particular aspirin in high doses, or antibiotics called aminoglycosides
Exposure to loud noise
A serious head injury
If a mother has rubella (German measles)while she is pregnant, her baby may be born deaf.
If a baby is born prematurely or the mother has a difficult labour
Medical conditions such as Ménière’s disease and otosclerosis
‘Glue ear’

Hearing aids

About two million people in the UK have hearing aids, but only 1.4 million use them regularly. There are at least another three million people who do not have hearing aids but experience significant hearing difficulties in everyday life. They would be likely to benefit from hearing aids. Hearing aids make sounds louder so that users are able to hear them. They are battery-operated and are usually worn in or around the ear.

In the UK you can get hearing aids free of charge on the NHS. Some people choose to buy them privately. Hearing aids are described as analogue or digital, depending on the technology they use to process sound. Digital hearing aids use technology that can process sounds better than analogue hearing aids.

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