dDeaf Means

The deaf and hard of hearing community is diverse.  There are variations in the cause and degree of hearing loss  and how individuals feel about their hearing loss.

How people "label" or identify themselves is personal and may reflect identification with the deaf and hard of hearing community or the degree to which they can hear.  For example:-

Some people identify themselves as "late-deafened," indicating that they experienced a loss of hearing later in life.    Other people identify themselves as "deaf-blind," which usually indicates that they have some degree of hearing loss and some degree of vision loss. 

Some people believe that the term "people with hearing loss" is inclusive and efficient.  However, some people who were born deaf or hard of hearing do not think of themselves as having lost their hearing.  Over the years, the most commonly accepted terms have come to be "deaf," "Deaf," and "hard of hearing."

The term brings together everyone who has a hearing loss.   d describes hard of hearing, deafened and deaf people and   D  describes profoundly Deaf people who are proud to be Deaf, and whose first language is often British Sign Language.  By putting the  dD  together we feel it shows that the Jersey dDeaf Society welcomes everyone with any degree of hearing loss.  We also welcome hearing people to join the Society, as working together we can help everyone understand the communication difficulties that surround a hearing loss.