deaf

people who have severe hearing impairments

"many of the deaf use sign language" make or render deaf

"a deafening noise" lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part (usually followed by `to') unwilling or refusing to pay heed

"deaf to her warnings"

The word deaf, can have very different meanings based on the background of the person speaking or the context in which the word is used. The term is commonly used to mean having profound hearing impairment, a physiological condition causing an inability to receive or process aural stimulation, i.e., sound.Depending on the definition of deafness used, the global deaf population is estimated to be roughly 0.1% of the total population (1 in 1000). library.gallaudet.edu The figure is likely to be higher in developing countries than developed countries due to restricted access to health care. Worldwide, at least 5% (1 in 20) are estimated to have a hearing problem great enough to cause them some difficulty. The great majority of people with hearing impairments are elderly or acquired hearing loss after leaving school. gri.gallaudet.edu A significant minority of deaf people are part of Deaf culture. They are mostly either individuals who were born deaf or became deaf at an early age, and who have a "severe or profound hearing loss"; they can also be CODAchildren of deaf parents. They use sign language and often emphatically see themselves as not disabled, but rather as members of a cultural or language minority. Members of this group use deaf as a label of cultural identity much more than as an expression of hearing status. When the word is used in this way, it is often capitalized.Deafness is not limited to humans, it can also occur in animals.

Terminology -

Deaf vs. Hearing Impaired - Outside of the deaf community deaf usually means a profound loss of hearingtotal hearing loss and someone with a partial loss of hearingpartial hearing loss is more likely to be referred to as hearing impaired. These terms are used in the pathological sense, to indicate an illness or disability.Political correctness has led to a preference for referring to a person as hearing impaired rather than deaf. In this sense it is a euphemism for ''deaf.'' In fact, Deaf people who consider themselves part of the cultural and linguistic minority, the deaf culture"Deaf World," take great affront at the use of the term "hearing impaired." They consider it a politically incorrect term.In contrast, the Deaf cultural worldview uses the terms Deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing in an "us" or "them" sense. In this view "Deaf" (us) means to experience the world and embrace the values that deaf people embrace (notice the capital "D"), while "hearing" (them) means to experience the world and embrace the values that hearing people embrace. This creates a Deaf cultural view in which hard-of-hearing represents a view of the world that embraces values from both the Deaf and hearing world. Indeed, within Deaf culture the terms "hearing" and "hard-of-hearing" are sometimes used to denigrate, provoke or insult both Deaf and hearing people. Deaf students from one school have been known to playfully refer to deaf students from another school as "hearing" during athletic competition. Historically speaking, Deaf culture has never embraced the term "hearing impaired" in this "us" versus "them" view because it is thought to be a generalization on pathology that tells nothing about an individual's values. Further, the deaf view of this terminology parallels that of a language minority rather than being a description of pathology or disability. The term "deaf" has been the traditional identification of culturally Deaf people for over two and a half centuries, or before the serious examination of hearing loss by medical practitioners and speech teachers, who introduced pathological terminology such as "semi-deaf", "semi-mute" and the modern "hearing impaired" to the language, even began. "Deaf" remains the preferred term of group identification among culturally deaf people today. Members of the Deaf community often interact through organization such as the National Association of the Deaf (nad.org) and through culturally Deaf web portals such as DeafSpot.net (deafspot.net). These organizations and websites are cultural artifacts, not self-help or medical resources.

Other meanings of 'deaf' -

Deaf is also used as a colloquialism to refer to a recalcitrant individual or someone unwilling to listen, obey or acknowledge an authority or partner. The third line of Shakespear's Sonnet 29 provides an example:::"When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
::I all alone beweep my outcast state,
::And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,"

As an acronym -

The acronym DEAF is also used to refer to the Deaf Equipment Acquisition Fund.

Categories of deafness and hearing impairment - These categories may be overlapping. Deafness or hearing impairment may be:

Unilateral hearing lossUnilateral

Prelingual deafnessPre-lingual

Peri-lingual deafnessPeri-lingual

Post-lingual deafnessPost-lingual

Partial loss of hearingPartial

Progressive hearing lossProgressive

Profound hearing lossProfound

Tone deafLimited (to tone)

Tinnitus

See also -

Models of deafness for a comparison of the medical, disability and cultural models of deafness.

Deaf education

Late deafened adult

List of deaf people

Sign language

National Deaf Children's Society

Deafblindness

External links -

gri.gallaudet.edu - Gallaudet University: Demographics of Deafness

deafwebsites.com - DeafWebsites.com

deaf247.co.uk - Deaf 24/7, British Sign Language and deafness related information (United !Kingdom)Category:SubculturesCa tegory:DisabilityCategory:Otol aryngologycategory:Deaf? culture!*de:Gehörlosigkeites:Sorderae o:Surdecofr:Surditéhu:Siketnl :Doofheidja:ろう者pt:Surdez sv:Dövhetzh:聾

Deaf Communication by Innovation
Deaf Communication by Innovation (DCI) is a Deaf owned and operated business created to improve communication between deaf and hearing people through advanced technology. Although technology often provides the most expeditious means of communication, DCI works hard to maintain a personal relationship with customers, interpreters and the deaf individuals they serve.
http://www.deafcomm.net/

http://www.albritton.us
Albritton Disability Consulting Services LLC (ADCS) leads industry, government and businesses into compliance with Section 508 Standards of accessible electronic and information technology. Learn what it takes to minimize risk and liability. We offer training and technical assistance tailored to meet your individual needs while helping your Information Technology (IT) Team comply with Section 508. GET THE COMPETITIVE EDGE Interested in doing business with Federal or State Government within the United States of America? California vendors, for instance, need to comply with Section 508 and develop accessible products to secure winning contracts. Our services put your business at an advantage over your competition when pursuing government contracts. SERVICES YOU CAN COUNT ON In addition to diagnosing and evaluating the accessibility of Website content, we focus on long-term solutions delivered through unparalleled training and technical assistance. ADCS effectively addresses your alternative formatting needs for all your digital documents, including inaccessible Portable Document Format (PDF). Our team of accessibility experts is available to convert your deformatted digital documents to accessible HTML and digital audio content. CONSIDER YOUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI) Develop an accessible Web presence to people with disabilities and Baby Boomers! Comply with government accessibility requirements! Have your Webmasters and IT Team certified as Web-accessibility Masters! Champion over complex accessibility barriers! Reach out to a hugely untapped resource of customers that include over twenty percent of the American population. BECOME OUR NEXT SATISFIED CUSTOMER Our customers are Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Webmasters, and IT Professionals. If you are a stakeholder (such as Academia; Health Maintenance Organizations; the Software Industry; Federal, State and Local Government; etc.) affected by Section 508 and other accessibility laws, then take the next step and contact us today!
http://www.albritton.us

Mission Moldova
We are a Christian faith mission aiming to spread the word of the Lord Jesus Christ to all people in Moldova
http://www.missionmoldova.org/

aartcore / aart muis : interactive multimedia concepts and design
Aartcore / Aart Muis graduated from the Willem de Kooning academy in Rotterdam in 2003. With his final assignment he won the 'Drempelprijs' in collaboration with Pieter Bas Lugthart under the name d00p. He also worked with Eboman in the Sample Paradise, in which Aart Muis developed new interfaces for controlling audio and video in real-time. The project is SUWU3, a visual live drum & bass collective which performs all over Holland and abroad. He has also performed, and held workshops and lectures in places such as New York, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam with different projects and collaborations. Aartcore / Aart Muis is afgestudeerd aan de Willem de Kooning academie in Rotterdam in 2003. Met zijn eindexamenwerk heeft hij onder de naam d00p (i.s.m. in Pieter Bas Lugthart) de 'Drempelprijs' gewonnen. Hij heeft ook samengewerkt met Eboman in het Sample Paradijs, hier ontwikkelde Aart Muis nieuwe interfaces om audio en video in real-time te controleren. Het project SUWU3 is een visueel live drum & bass collectief dat optreed in heel Nederland en daar buiten. Verder geeft hij performances, workshops en lezingen in plaatsen als New York, Parijs, Londen, Amsterdam, Utrecht en Rotterdam met verschillende projecten en samenwerkingen.
http://www.aartcore.com/

National Association of the Deaf
Programs and activities include grassroots advocacy and empowerment, captioned media, certification of American Sign Language professionals; certification of sign language interpreters; deafness-related information and publications, legal assistance, policy development and research, public awareness, and youth leadership development.
http://www.nad.org/

The Deaf Resource Library
Online collection of resource material and links intended to inform about deaf communities and resources in the U.S. and Japan.
http://www.deaflibrary.org

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
An international membership organization and resource center on hearing loss and spoken language approaches and related issues. Aims to serve as one of the best information and support centers for pediatric hearing loss and the auditory approach.
http://www.agbell.org

The British Deaf Association
The BDA is the UKs largest national organisation run by Deaf people, for Deaf people. The BDA widely promotes the use of BSL.
http://www.britishdeafassociation.org.uk/

Interpreter Training Programs
Two- and four-year programs in the USA and Canada. From the Registry of Interpeters for the Deaf.
http://www.rid.org/

Deaf Queer Resource Center
Where Deaf Queers proudly make their home in cyberspace!
http://www.deafqueer.org/