Deaf and Hearing Loss

Close to 1 million Americans are functionally deaf, while 10 million are hearing impaired or hard of hearing. Causes of deafness include secondary effects of disease or illness, injury, long-term exposure to environmental noise, damaging reactions to medications, and genetic factors, among others. With the assistance of hearing aids and other assistive technology, however, being deaf may have minimal impact on your ability to live a fully independent life. The following articles provide more information about causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options as well as recent research findings.