[pugworthy]

I 100% agree with the line you quote and refute in your reply, which I've repeated below...

> when an individual suffers from moderate to severe hearing loss, they are less likely to participate in social activities. Perhaps they are embarrassed about their hearing loss. Or they may simply find it unrewarding to attend a social event when they cannot hear what is going on.

This has been my life experience since the late 60's. It's my life right now.

You replied...

> People who are born deaf/hh , or who lose their hearing early in life, if they are allowed to access and participate Deaf/HH communities and spaces, simply do not have any of these difficulties in social contexts within those communities.

As someone who's been hard of hearing for most of their life, I'm curious exactly where these "HH communities" might have been in 1969, or the 70's, or 80's, or even now in the 2020's? Beyond the occasional subreddit that is. I suppose in elementary school the teachers could have put me in special ed classes. Or made me sit in the front of the class all the time. I'm glad they didn't do either.

[cardiffspaceman]

The local community college used to show lectures for certain classes on the cable TV. They had lectures on “Deaf Culture”. The lecturer would use the word “hearies” and generally made a good case for the existence of deaf culture. I am a “heary” and I found these lectures eye-opening.