Hi, thanks for your input.
Actually, the distinction between “deaf” and “hard of hearing” is not where most hearing people (and you) are drawing the line. I don’t blame you for being confused because this seems to be a VERY common misconception.
What “hard of hearing” means is, “able to hear well enough to understand a person talking on the phone and carry on a phone conversation”. They may need a lot of amplification to do it, but they can.
What “deaf” means is, “can’t hear well enough to really understand a person on the phone or carry on a conversation that way.”
Most deaf people ARE ABLE TO HEAR. Yes, there do exist some deaf people who really can’t hear anything at all or very close to it. But this is NOT the majority of us deaf people. I am a deaf person who is ABLE TO HEAR. More specifically, I am “severely to profoundly deaf” (i.e. my deafness is “severe” in the low pitch range and more “profound” in the high pitch range). And, yes, I can even hear speech! I just don’t hear it well enough or clearly enough to carry on a phone conversation that way. I need to see either a sign language interpreter or text to understand the other person, or else I need to be able to see their face to lip read them to the extent I am able. Some deaf people hear speech and some do not. What we all share in common is that we need some kind of visual input (lip reading, writing, signing, gestures, SOMEthing visual) in order to understand what others say. For those of us who hear speech, we may be able to use this to supplement visual input, but speech cannot replace visual input altogether.
Many deaf and hard of hearing people prefer either the term “deaf” (if cannot hear on phone well) or “hard of hearing” (if can hear on phone well enough to be reasonably comfortable talking on the phone). Many deaf and HoH people dislike the term hearing impaired and avoid that term and ask others to not use it to describe them. I’m not trying to stop you from using the term if you’re genuinely comfortable with it, prefer it, and don’t want to change terms. Each person has a right to define their own identity in the way that feels right for them, even if it involves terminology that others dislike. But since you welcome correction, I wanted to ensure you were at least aware of that dynamic/preference.
You seem to be using “hearing impaired” in the way that many deaf/Deaf/HoH people use the term “hard of hearing”. But actually, “hearing impaired” is supposed to be an umbrella term that covers ALL deaf and hard of hearing people. Again, many deaf/Deaf/HoH people would prefer for the term “hearing impaired” not be used at all. But if you are going to use it, then the correct usage is to use it for EVERYONE who has ANY degree of difficulty hearing.
Of course it all gets confusing because so many people use all of these terms in different ways (especially hearing people, and also deaf/HoH people who are not really connected to either the signing and culturally Deaf community or the non-signing deaf/HoH community. So even if you use the terms correctly, some people may still misunderstand because they mistakenly think the terms mean something else!
Hope this helps and is clear.
