What is deaf?

Being deaf means someone can’t hear sounds the way most people do, kind of like if your ears were covered by a thick blanket.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy car, and you usually know when it's coming because you hear it zooming toward you. But if you’re deaf, that sound is gone, you can’t hear the zoom, so you might not notice the car until it’s right in front of you.

Some people are born deaf, like a baby who never hears lullabies or laughter from their family. Others become deaf later in life, maybe because of an illness or something that happens to their ears, like when your ear gets really sore after jumping into a pool too fast.

People who are deaf might use other ways to communicate, like sign language. It’s like having a secret way to talk with your hands! You can have whole conversations without ever saying a word.

Sometimes, people who are deaf can still feel vibrations, like when music is really loud and you feel it in your chest. That’s kind of like how you might feel the ground shake during an earthquake, but instead of feeling the earth move, you're feeling the sound move through your body. Being deaf means someone can’t hear sounds the way most people do, kind of like if your ears were covered by a thick blanket.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy car, and you usually know when it's coming because you hear it zooming toward you. But if you’re deaf, that sound is gone, you can’t hear the zoom, so you might not notice the car until it’s right in front of you.

Some people are born deaf, like a baby who never hears lullabies or laughter from their family. Others become deaf later in life, maybe because of an illness or something that happens to their ears, like when your ear gets really sore after jumping into a pool too fast.

People who are deaf might use other ways to communicate, like sign language. It’s like having a secret way to talk with your hands! You can have whole conversations without ever saying a word.

Sometimes, people who are deaf can still feel vibrations, like when music is really loud and you feel it in your chest. That’s kind of like how you might feel the ground shake during an earthquake, but instead of feeling the earth move, you're feeling the sound move through your body.