The Hard of Hearing (HoH) community is diverse and expansive, and, like all communities, use a myriad of words to describe the intricacies within the community. Listed below is an incomplete list of the terminology frequently used:
Accessibility: an environment where anyone, regardless of ability, can participate.
Audism: a form of discrimination specifcally targeted to Deaf/hard of hearing indiviuals.
Closed Captions (CC): a text version of spoken dialogue in a digital medium and can be turned on and off by the viewer.
Cochlear implant: a surgically implanted electronic device that instills a modified resemblance of sound and is provided exclusively to individuals with moderate to profound hearing loss. The implant contains both external and internal devices; a microphone collects sound and transmits it into a cognizant signal.
CODA: a child of a deaf adult; refers to an individual who was raised by at least one hard-of-hearing parent.
Concentration Fatigue: frequently referred to as listening-fatigue, exhaustion and inability to concentrate due to overexertion from auditory stimuli or verbal interaction.
Deaf: individuals with profound hearing loss, without functional hearing capacity.
dB (Decibel): a unit of measurement that measures sound intensity on a base 10 logarithmic scale.
FM System: also known as a frequency modulation system. Wireless assistive hearing devices that enhance hearing capacity, most frequently for long-distance or noisy communication. An example is Roger Pen, a portable microphone.
Hard of Hearing (HoH): individuals with mild to severe hearing loss, but some hearing capacity is still present.
Hearing Aid: an electronic device, situated inside or on the ear, used to amplify sound.
Inclusion: all individuals or entities should prioritize the ability for individuals with disability to freely partake without hesitation in every interaction.
Induction Loop: assistive hearing technology that permits electronic audio to be wirelessly connected to a telecoil.
Lipreading: a technique of understanding spoken language through the interpretation of lip movements.
Live-captioning: also referred to as speech-to-text captioning, transcribes spoken word into captions in real-time.
Note-taker: most common in academic settings, a note-taker writes notes for hard of hearing individuals, so they can best understand lectures.
Mono/Unilateral hearing loss: hearing loss that only impacts one ear.
Open captions (OC): a transcription of spoken dialogue in a digital medium that can not be turned off.
Palantypist: professional trained in the usage of a palantype machine to record verbal input from a speaker, with the aim to assist in communication in the deaf or hard of hearing.
Sign interpreter: a professional interpreter and translator between spoken and signed language.
Sign language: languages that use visuals to convey meaning. Sign language is not universal, and various regions use different sign languages. Another variant is baby sign language that facilitates youth to express emotions prior to language acquisition.
Speech therapy: therapy to assist in clarity of verbal communication.
Tinnitus: a perception of a buzz, ring, or a nonexistent noise within an ear. Tinnitus is a symptom of other related maladies, such as hearing loss or ear injury.
Transcription: written excerpt of spoken word verbatim.