hard of hearing

Or hard-of-hear·ing

[hahrd-uhv-heer-ing]

adjective

1. having reduced or deficient hearing ability; having mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss.

   We provide amplified phones for those who are hard of hearing so that they can communicate with friends and family.

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. people who have reduced or deficient hearing ability.

   Besides being an aid for the hard of hearing, subtitles improve comprehension for viewers learning a different language.

hard of hearing

adjective

1. 1. deaf or partly deaf

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the hard of hearing

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard of hearing¹

First recorded in 1555–65

Idioms and Phrases

Somewhat deaf, having a partial loss of hearing. For example, You'll have to speak distinctly; Dad's a little hard of hearing. The use of hard in the sense of “difficulty in doing something” survives only in this expression. [Mid-1500s]

Example Sentences

Autumn is hard of hearing; she has postlingual hearing loss in both ears, which basically means that she experienced her hearing loss after she learned how to talk.

Read more on Literature

“Life is already hard enough when you look like me … us. But whenever people find out that I’m hard of hearing, it gets even worse. The mean people become cruel. The so-called nice people think I’m weak. It happens every day, whether it’s people who think I can’t cross the street or check out a book by myself. And now it’s the same thing, even in the underworld. I mean, a god looked at me and called me broken. A deficient model.”

Read more on Literature

Autumn has always been competitive, and I’ve asked myself if her being hard of hearing had something to do with it.

Read more on Literature

“I know we’re Black. But what can you understand about being a Black, Korean, and hard of hearing girl in a society that doesn’t care about any of those groups? About trying to save the environment when you need to jump over a million hurdles first?!”

Read more on Literature

“You’ve proved it, ten times over. You’re already awesome, and cool, and smart, and popular. And you did all that while being Black, Korean, and hard of hearing. You’re on your way to changing the world! I … I admire you. I want to be as confident and capable as you are.”

Read more on Literature