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For most of us, the term ‘deafness’ conjures up a frightening image. Becoming deaf in the prime of life must
be akin to becoming hard-of-hearing in old age, only infinitely more traumatic. We imagine ourselves turning desperately for
help to an audiologist (a specialist in the assessment of hearing), or to a clinician specialized in the diagnosis and treatment
of disorders of the ear (an otologist). Music, bird song, the warning sound of an approaching car: all of these, plus, most
importantly, the possibility of engaging in spoken interaction with our fellows, are lost to us. Yet being deaf has always
been much more than this. Throughout much of European history it meant to be an outcast: cut off not only from human society
but, far worse, from the word of God.
Recently, a new ‘cultural construction of deafness’ has emerged.
According to this view, to be ‘deaf’ is to identify with a community in which the dominant medium of communication
is sign language, and with its own history, social institutions, and cultural forms. The medical understanding of deafness
as hearing loss and the cultural understanding of deafness as social and linguistic difference coexist uneasily in modern
societies.
Because of differences in the degree and nature of hearing loss, the overall incidence of deafness is difficult
to estimate. However, it is likely that around 15% of the population have impaired hearing, which, in many cases, is accompanied
by tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and balance problems. Deafness is associated with many hereditary and non-hereditary diseases
and may also result from pre- or post-natal exposure to a variety of toxins and traumas. The degree of hearing loss can vary
greatly, from a very slight impairment in one ear to total deafness in both ears.
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