hard of hearing

adjective

: relating to or having partial hearing loss
people who are hard of hearing
the deaf and hard of hearing community
… the task force … will ask the Nebraska Department of Education to hire a national consulting firm with expertise in the area of deaf and hard of hearing education to analyze Nebraska's system.Margaret Reist

Examples of hard of hearing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Patrons with mobility impairments and deaf or hard of hearing patrons can request an accessibility wristband at the access center. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 27 Feb. 2024 The accessibility wristband allows the patron plus one companion to enter the accessible viewing areas or the deaf and hard of hearing areas. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 27 Feb. 2024 For example, many include strobe lights in addition to sounds, which can be helpful for those who are hard of hearing, don’t want to wake sleeping babies, or startle pets. Jenna Clark, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Feb. 2024 Stephanie Wittels Wachs, who founded Let Texas Hear, has two children who are hard of hearing. Kff Health News, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024 Add in the centuries of marginalization experienced by Deaf and hard of hearing communities, and establishing concrete relationships between SLs becomes extremely difficult. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 1 Feb. 2024 In October, the Lyric became the first opera company to offer the shirts to audience members who are deaf or hard of hearing. Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2023 Designed for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, the Xander glasses generate text captions of a conversation in real time for the wearer. Aaron Pressman, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Feb. 2023 The standards related to on-screen themes, creative leadership, industry access, and audience development, and required the inclusion of women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with cognitive or physical disabilities or who are deaf or hard of hearing. Andrea Marks, Rolling Stone, 2 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard of hearing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1564, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hard of hearing was in 1564

Dictionary Entries Near hard of hearing

Cite this Entry

“Hard of hearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard%20of%20hearing. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hard-of-hearing

adjective
ˌhärd-ə(v)-ˈhi(ə)r-iŋ
: relating to or having a faulty but functional sense of hearing

Medical Definition

hard of hearing

adjective
hard of hear·​ing
ˌhärd-ə(v)-ˈhi(ə)r-iŋ
: relating to or having partial hearing loss
adults who are hard of hearing
the deaf and hard of hearing community

More from Merriam-Webster on hard of hearing

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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