Saturday, February 17, 2018

Deaf OR Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH)


Deaf is defined as “partially or wholly lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing” (Dictionary.com, n.d.). Thus, Deaf is a good representative word for all people who have varying levels of hearing without resorting to others’ perspectives that hard of hearing is a better group. It perpetuates a hierarchical sense that it is better to be hard of hearing than to be Deaf.

We should reject the phrase of “deaf and hard of hearing” and use only “Deaf.” In discussing the difference between deaf and hard of hearing, Berke (2017) said it depends on whom you ask. Hard of hearing is a medical term given to people who have a mild hearing loss. In our using “Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH)” we are using a term that is being perpetuated by a medical point of view whereas, historically, Deaf had always been used to represent a spectrum of people with varying hearing status.

It is not a radical notion if we will look at other groups with labels. We call Black people “Black” without resorting to levels of their blackness. We say “autism spectrum disorder” without labeling where on the spectrum they are. Deaf and Hard of Hearing allows us to place one above others by levels of their hearing status. We are implying that it is better to be hard of hearing than to be deaf.


References

Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Deaf. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/deaf

Berke, J. (2017). What is the difference between deaf and hard of hearing? Verywell.com. Retrieved from https://www.verywell.com/deaf-or-hard-of-hearing-whats-the-difference-1048593

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