Some people feel comfortable with particular words to describe their own deafness. They might feel quite strongly about terms they do not like being used.

Terms used by RNID

These are just some of the terms we use to describe deafness.

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 the term hard of hearing 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. This can happen suddenly or gradually.

Deafblind people

Many deafblind people have some hearing and vision. Others will be totally deaf and totally blind. There are about 23,000 deafblind people in the UK.

For information on deafblindness see the Sense website (external link, opens new browser window).

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.

Definitions of deafness

Your level of deafness is defined according to the quietest sound you can hear, measured in decibels.

Mild deafness

If you have mild deafness it can cause some difficulty following speech, mainly in noisy situations. The quietest sounds you can hear are 25 to 39 decibels.

Moderate deafness

People with moderate deafness may have difficulty following speech without a hearing aid, and find the quietest sounds they can hear are 40 to 69 decibels.

Severe deafness

People with severe deafness rely a lot on lipreading, even with a hearing aid, as the quietest sounds they can hear are 70 to 94 decibels. BSL may be their first or preferred language.

Profound deafness

The quietest sounds that profoundly deaf people can hear average 95 decibels or more. BSL may be their first or preferred language but some prefer to lipread.