Hard of hearing is a term that refers to someone with mild-to-severe hearing loss. In these individuals, some hearing capability is still present. Deafness, on the other hand, refers to profound hearing loss. Deaf people have very little hearing or none at all.

What does it mean when someone is hard of hearing?

Deaf usually refers to a hearing loss so severe that there is very little or no functional hearing. Hard of hearing refers to a hearing loss where there may be enough residual hearing that an auditory device, such as a hearing aid or FM system, provides adequate assistance to process speech.

How can you tell if someone is hard of hearing?

Signs of hearing loss in 1 earyour hearing is worse when sound comes from 1 side.all sounds seem generally quieter than usual.finding it hard to tell where sound is coming from.difficulty ignoring background noise or telling different sounds apart.finding speech unclear.More items