Hard of Hearing

A term describing people with hearing loss ranging from mild to severe who typically have some functional hearing, often with the assistance of hearing aids or other amplification devices. Unlike many Deaf individuals who identify with Deaf culture and use sign language, people who are Hard of Hearing may primarily use spoken language and rely on captions, hearing aids, and other assistive technologies. Caption preferences among Hard of Hearing viewers often differ from those of Deaf viewers due to different relationships with sound and residual hearing abilities.