Community Hearing Community

Introduction: Hearing loss is a global health problem. In 2012, there were 360 million people worldwide with hearing loss because of a disease, infection, head injury or the aging process (World Health Organization, 2015). Latin America and the Caribbean uphold 9% of this distribution. Population-based studies carried out deem hearing loss a low-income country problem; it is also linked to a low literacy rate (World Health Organization, 2015). Therefore, Puerto Rico falls under said distribution and as a result, deafness is portrayed as a potential risk for residents. Deafness is a general term that is defined as “the inability to comprehend verbal language due to an incapacity to hear” (IDEA, 2015). On the other hand, acquired hearing

This acceptance is strongly associated with competence in a signed language. “The hearing community has variations of their own behaviors, values, and beliefs that are passed down by communication” (Li & Karakowsky, 2001); making up for the majority of the population, the hearing community’s cultural identity is grounded on communication

According to Muñoz-Baell (2000) “the differences lie in how this obstacle determines their lives and how they perceive it.” It is important to mention Deaf people do not see themselves as incapacitated, they simply practice a distinct culture (with their own language, values and norms); just like in any other culture, its members have a sense of acceptance and belonging. An imperative distinction among those who suffer from deafness is the classification of the ‘Deaf’ and the ‘deaf.’ Individuals that were born with this particular condition and who’s preferred method of communication is sign language may refer to themselves as ‘Deaf’ (with a capital D); the capital D emphasizes their pride within their deaf identity. The ‘deaf’ (with a lowercase d) is usually denominated for the rest of the population that has acquired the disability and have little Deaf culture (Turner, O., et al., 2007). Here we can establish that a fine line exists between acceptance and rejection, clearly the ‘deaf’ are placed on an intermittent level amid the hearing and the ‘Deaf’ leaving them