Archives March 2016

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House flippers will focus a large portion of their budget on the kitchen as it is the biggest draw for house shoppers. What if your kitchen is in need of a face lift but you dont have the major budget of a seasoned house flipper? You can benefit from a strong first impression by simply refacing your kitchen cabinets.

home improvement, kitchen cabinets, cabinet refacing, home repair

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Kitchens are one of the most popular rooms in the home and probably the number one room where remodeling can add tremendous value to your property. House flippers will focus a large portion of their budget on the kitchen as it is the biggest draw for house shoppers. What if your kitchen is in need of a face lift but you dont have the major budget of a seasoned house flipper? You can benefit from a strong first impression by simply refacing your kitchen cabinets.
Essentially this requires a redo of the front faces of the cabinets and the hardware. This includes the doors, drawer fronts, cabinet handles and the cabinet body fronts.
One of the most common methods (and probably the cheapest) is to repaint all cabinet surfaces and doors. This doesnt have to be a time consuming process, usually you can accomplish the entire job in 2 or 3 days. It does make a bit of a mess so its advised that you do all the door and drawer painting outside or in a well ventilated area of your home. For the cabinet body fronts youll paint them where they stand so put up plastic sheeting over the doorways to prevent excess paint and fumes from leaking into other rooms of your house.
The other most popular method is to simply replace all the doors, drawers and hardware while leaving the cabinet bodies in place and either painting or refinishing those. This method allows you the fun and freedom of shopping for new cabinet doors but also saving hundreds or thousands of dollars over the price of entirely new cabinets.
Cabinet refacing also allows you a lot of creative freedom. Crafty individuals will often cut out the middle section of cabinet doors and replace them with all sorts of materials including punched copper, shiny objects between panes of glass, or even dried food materials in colorful arrangements. Simply using glass insets will provide a more open space visually, but be sure youre on the neat side as visitors will see the entire contents of your cabinets!
Before starting your cabinet refacing project check out various kitchen remodeling photos on the internet and in your local home improvement stores. They will have hundreds of great ideas to suit any budget. Most of all, have fun and enjoy the pick-me-up!

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Home of the Future

new home, home building, energy efficiency

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A home for the 21st Century is not about the latest in gadgets and wireless alarms, internet connectioARW or top of the line intercom system. It is about strength, comfort and energy efficiency.
Baby Boomers are buying their last home and they know what they want.
Enter a new type of home. A home that stands up to fire, noise, sun, wind, rain, snow, bugs, mould and inevitable acts of God like, earthquakes and hurricanes; a home that gives you unprecedented comfort and a breath of fresh air 24 hours a day; a home that can resist hurricanes in Florida as well as sub artic temperatures in the Canadian North.
Imagine an airtight, steel reinforced concrete cube with about 3 inches of styrofoam iARWulation on both sides of the wall and body temperature heated floors.
Fresh air from the outside enters the house through a series of pipes buried 5 feet below the ground where there is always a coARWtant temperature  8 Degrees Celsius.
If you really wanted you could open high efficiency Low-E Argon filled windows, but why would you want to?
During the summer the incoming air is pre-cooled; during the winter it is pre-warmed. The flow is strictly controlled, pre-conditioned and filtered for a breath of fresh air – 24 hours a day.
Computer modeling of this type of air pre-conditioning shows that just this one idea saves 11% on heating and cooling costs comparable to conventional venting system.
This new type of luxury home is built as a combination of some of the newest technologies in modern home building: IARWulated Concrete Form (ICFs), radiant floor heating, a tank-less water heater and a low energy coARWumption air conditioning system (that that you may need to use but very rarely).
The outside walls, which are built out of steel reinforced concrete make this home wind and fire resistant, bug and mould resistant and provide excellent protection from hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.
Outside voices, traffic noises and police sireARW are muffled by the walls thickness which allows you to sleep soundly every night. Gone are floor squeaks, drafts and the rattling of glass in your china cabinet.
Because of the exceptional iARWulation of iARWulated concrete forms, there is significant ongoing savings in energy costs and greatly increased comfort levels for the homeowner. The savings are anywhere from 35% to 60% depending mostly on the style of home and the size and type of windows.
Features, such as a high (92%) efficiency tank-less water heater heats the whole home, while providing an endless supply of potable hot water.
It turARW itself on when you turn your hot water tap, therefore there are no standby losses as with a conventional hot water heater. This equals approximately 25% of energy savings just to heat your hot water.
It is also easy to incorporate a full solar heating, so you can achieve a complete independence from the grid.
This type of home costs only about 10% more than a comparable wood framed home and coARWidering a long term savings, comfort and security why would anyone build homes differently is a merited question.
If you are thinking of building, or simply want to see for yourself what all the fuss is about, the model home can be viewed on Jan 15, and every Saturday after that until the month of April. It is located on 252 Pearson St. by the golf course in Meaford, Ontario.

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A house or office may be very minimalist but what can make it an eye pleaser are the accessories and furnishings, properly used and coordinated with the other furniture in the room. One such furnishing that can be used to achieve an over-all effect is the use of area rugs.
Area rugs are available in all shapes and sizes and definitely in all colors. Area rugs need not be expensive to serve their purpose. It all depends on the creativity of the decorator.
The art of usin…

area rugs, carpets, design

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A house or office may be very minimalist but what can make it an eye pleaser are the accessories and furnishings, properly used and coordinated with the other furniture in the room. One such furnishing that can be used to achieve an over-all effect is the use of area rugs.
Area rugs are available in all shapes and sizes and definitely in all colors. Area rugs need not be expensive to serve their purpose. It all depends on the creativity of the decorator.
The art of using rugs has been in existence thousands of years ago when the weavers incorporate religious or tribal symbolisms in the rug designs. In fact, rug styles and designs have been named after cities like Kashan and tribes like Bakhtiari due to the strong influence of these tribes and places to the rug designers.
The Persian rugs became famous among royal courts, thanks to the European traders who bartered the rugs to Europes rich and powerful families. From then on, the Europeans learned from the Persian rug techniques and later on created their own designs and rug motifs. The evolution of rigs is really a good example of cross cultural influences.
Modern day rug makers may have all the high technology equipment but ancient rug makers had to contend with their creative hands to create hand-woven rugs that characterized great artistry. The invention of chemical and commercial dyes made the rug making industry better and more colorful since rig makers can now experiment on a variety of colors.
When buying rugs, always consider its purpose and where it will be placed. One can opt for antique rugs which comes in traditional designs and styles or modern rugs which are available in all shapes, sizes, colors and designs. Aside from the design consideration, your choice of rug should also be based on where the rug is to be placed. If you need a rug for your private rooms then an antique rug would be fine. However, an antique rug may be frail and easily damaged so it should not be placed in areas with maximum exposure. Antique rugs will definitely cost more than modern rugs so you must also make sure that you have researched on the authenticity as well as the proper price of antique rugs.
Rugs that are to be placed in areas with high people traffic should be in colors that are more dirt resistant. The material should also be taken into consideration since a soft and fragile rug may be out of place in a room often visited by people. Unless of course, you want to gamble on the rugs toughness.
Modern day rugs are not only machine-made but they can also be hand-knotted or hooked, or the rugs can be a product of needlepoint. Rugs made of machines are available in all designs and quality.
While the type, design and color of the rug is of paramount consideration when buying rugs, the price of the rug should also be a primary concern. A more expensive rug made of sturdier and quality materials would be more cost effective than a cheap rug that can easily be damaged.

title:What is Language Immersion?
author:Dorioara Pinku
source_url:h
ttp://www.articlecity.com/articles/education/article_202.shtml
date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:09
category:education
article:
Language immersion is a program where a foreign language is used as the language of instruction in school. In partial language immersion, only 50-80% of a given school day is in a foreign language. In full language immersion programs and international study abroad programs, students eat, sleep, and breathe the language they are attempting to learn, and so the language is picked up much more quickly. The curriculum that the student follows will still be the same. The only difference is the language of instruction used by the teachers. This differs from second language programs where the students attend a class learning the language singularly.
Those who partake in an immersion program are forced to communicate in the foreign language. If you choose to study French in Paris, all classes will be taught in French. Also, you will practice French all over Paris, speaking to native people. Language is effectively acquired through the regular usage of it. You have to communicate socially and there is a wide variety of situations that require the language to be learned. This natural interaction is fun and enriching and it also motivates you to learn about the culture. While studying Spanish in For the best Maths Tutor In Ireland company, call Ace Solution Books. Barcelona, for example, you are likely to desire to learn as much as possible about the culture of the people around you. By incorporating language learning with content learning, it becomes an important part of a student’s cognitive and social development. Those in an immersion program learn the foreign language faster and are more likely to become proficient in the language than those attending a regular second language class.
Bilingualism and multilingualism are increasingly becoming the norm. Bilingualism opens doors to communication with people of different races and languages in different parts of the world. Those who know more than one language will be more competent in this ever-cosmopolitan world of ours. Not only does immersion assist us socially, but there is also a high possibility of reaping economic benefits. A company looking for a bilingual employee is much more likely to hire someone who has studied Spanish in Madrid or learned Japanese in Japan than someone who took a few language classes at an American university. No college, regardless of how prestigious, can replicate the experience and result of learning a language among native speakers.
Regardless of what some people might think about how to handle a second language, it will not jeopardize your ability to speak your native language. In fact, research shows that the stronger the development of your mother tongue, the greater the proficiency level in the immersion language. This also works vice versa.
Being able to study in another country, absorbing the cultures, lifestyles and habits, is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are many countries whose education systems provide immersion programs for international students, where you will be able to learn the language with other students from all around the world.
Paris, the capital of France, proud host of the grand Eiffel Tower and the Louvre art museum, is a wonderful place for students studying abroad. France is a country rich in culture and heritage, with a history that links closely to England’s. You can be romancing down the Seine, visiting the disturbing Catacombs, or marveling at the French gothic masterpiece, the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Besides being the perfect tourist attraction, Paris has schools and immersion programs that cater to people of all levels of French language proficiency. The French are very proud of their language, and they have a reason to be, for it truly is a beautiful language. After learning French in Paris, you will no doubt appreciate the beauty as much as the native French do.
What about a walk down the birthplace of the oldest civilizations known? See the 900 year old Forum, or take a look at Pantheon, the floating dome. Rome, Italy is the perfect place to indulge in the Italian language, culture and heritage. Studying in the heart of Rome, you, as an international student, gain not only proficiency in one of the most spoken languages in the world, but you also learn about modern Italian culture and society. And don’t forget the food!
There are so many places in the world that you can go to and absorb culture. From studying Chinese in China to living in laidback Spain, the choices are endless. Each country gives you an entirely new experience from the other. You live life their way, you eat their food and you breathe their air; there is much to learn and take in. If you choose to study abroad or taking an immersion program, be prepared for a whole new world that will open up to you.
ZZZZZZ

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Get to know the process of buying bathroom vanities second hand.

vanities, bathroom vanities, d cor, bathroom

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It is unarguable that bathroom vanity cabinets are an essential part to any bathroom. Unfortunately, many have shied away from purchasing the vanity of their dreams. Why? Well, because bathroom vanity cabinets have become quite costly. Fortunately, there is an alternative option for those looking to purchase the vanity of there dreams on a budget. Welcome to the world of used bathroom vanities.
Used bathroom vanity cabinets can cost almost half of what new ones do. This is a big plus side considering that many of us simply dont have the money to splurge on a new one. Whats more is that one can purchase a very high-end vanity at half the cost. Used vanities tend to have little if no cosmetic problems  thus they are a true bargain.
So where exactly can you go to purchase a used bathroom vanity cabinet? A good place to start is the internet. Head over to your favorite online classifieds site and do a search for vanities. Some of the more popular classified sites include Craigslist and Recycler.com. When you search on the site, youre bound to come across numerous people selling their vanities. We recommend sifting through the results at a slow pace and being vigilant in trying to spot one thats truly jaw-dropping.
When you find one that fits your likes and budget, contact the owner and setup a meeting. You need to see the vanity in person before shelling out any cash. Once the meetings said and done and youre satisfied with the vanity, go ahead and purchase it.
A quick word of warning, when youre shopping for a used vanity online be sure to push for a live meeting with owner. The last thing you want is to get scammed for several hundred dollars because you werent careful. Good luck and happy vanity shopping!

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There are many different materials for kitchen dressing. It can be designed in one or several colors.

kitchen installation, kitchen remodelin, kitchen renovation

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What can be done to the kitchen?
There are many different materials for kitchen dressing. It can be designed in one or several colors. If you want contrast, it can be created with the help of bright-colored dishes on the shelves, bright curtains etc.
The materials for wall, floor and ceiling coverage depends on your financial situation. The most important factors are usability, endurance, and aesthetics of the chosen material. It should also match the general interior design in finish and color.
The most popular floor covering is ceramic tile. It can be perfectly combined with walls and table surface. Collection variability existing in the market, luxurious mosaic pictures, imitations of parquet or marble, diversity of formats allow to embody fantastic design ideas, impossible with any other material.
The only drawback of this material is that the ceramic tile may crack by falling of a hard object on it, and the feet are cold on them. But this is surmountable: one can use under floor heating, electric or water one. If you choose tile, take the one with rough surface, because smooth tile is made slippery by water, which often happens in the kitchen.
Natural wood is only little less popular. Its natural warmth, saturated tinges, vivid texture make a kitchen cosy, family and traditional. With wood, different variants are possible, too. Drawbacks of wood are its low moisture and chemical resistance and difficulties in treatment. If pieces of food or cleaning agent drops fall on it, there is a high chance that they would not be removed completely. Thick layer of lacquer or boiled oil partially protects the wood from these inconveniences. It should be renovated periodically for maintenance of the floor look. Sharp or hot subjects falling on the wooden floor track its surface inevitably.
Linoleum has been constantly popular for a long time already. It is a rather cheap, attractive and usable floor coating for any interior. Linoleum is antistatic and soft, doesn’t attract dust, it is resistant to the direct sunlight and home dissolvent-free chemicals.
Its drawbacks are: low melting temperature, softness, vulnerability to dissolvent, and a considerable shrink. Light linoleum becomes yellow with time under the sunrays. The dark one soils itself less and preserves good look longer. But even dark linoleum has a short life. In 3 – 5 years it must be replaced. Choosing color, pay your attention to the bottom layer. It should be made of the natural materials. Such linoleum is more comfortable for feet, and statistical charge is accumulated less. The main drawback of linoleum is that it is easy to damage it with, for example, fallen cigarette-end or heels. Nevertheless, the number of those who prefer this kitchen flooring does not reduce. First of all, it attracts buyers with its price. If possible, choose natural linoleum, ecological material having bactericidal properties (bacteria do not propagate on this surface), heat-resistant, antistatic, resistant to chemicals and aggressive environment. The important feature of the natural linoleum is that it is not deformed under the furniture or heels.
Kitchen rival of the linoleum is laminated floor made of floor boards with laminated surface. Such floors correspond to lamellar pressed plastic – firm fiberboard with decorative enduring surface. They have several drawbacks. It is, first of all, the need to follow special treatment recommendations. For example, one must not use spouting water or wet duster with long fringe for cleaning. Accidental water drops on the laminate are also unadvisable. Laminated floors react to water just like parquet. Hard-to-remove spots (paint, glue, oil etc.) should be removed with the help of special-purpose chemicals – traditional agents, as wax, polish and others, do not fit them. Laminate is almost impossible to repair. Mending of any defect will remain noticeable. However, under the pressure, lifetime of laminated floor is 5 – 10 years.

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Let’s examine the main types of combination faucets and their features in greater detail. Today there are three main types of combination faucets

Bathroom, bathtub, shower, installation, bathtub, sink, installations, bathroom design, bathroom decoration, shower cabin, small bathroom, shower, shower fittings, bathtubs

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Variety of combination faucets.
Let’s examine the main types of combination faucets and their features in greater detail. Today there are three main types of combination faucets: single-knob, double-valve and temperature control devices. Single-knob combination faucets are the most easy-to-use. To start or to intercept the flow of water or to change its temperature all you have to do is to turn the tap. Moreover, the process of installation of such combination faucet is not time and efforts consuming.
Nevertheless, double-valve combination faucets become more and more popular. Double-valve combination faucet is well-known tap with two handles for hot and cold water. In order to have the water of required temperature one has to make some more moves by comparison with single-knob tap, but the result will be more accurate and water consumption will be less. There are two sub-types of double-valve combination faucets – with ceramic disks and rubber seals for gasketing. If you have hard water, containing fine sand and dirt, you have to choose the second sub-type.
Temperature control devices are combination faucets of new generation; they combine all best features of combination faucets and meet all main reliability, convenience and safety requirements. Temperature control device looks like the panel with several handles for switching on/off the water flow as well as for regulation of its temperature.
Undoubted advantage of temperature control device is that its adjustments are saved during the whole period you need. The temperature control device automatically limits water heating by 38 degrees to avoid scalds and if you need the water of higher temperature you can switch-off this function. The temperature control device does not produce too cold water and that makes its utilization by kids as much as possible comfortable and safe.
There is one more type of combination faucets – cascade combination faucets.
That combination faucet reflects the aspiration of man to recreate beauty of the nature in his bathroom as realistically as possible. Cascade combination faucets produce wide jet of water simulating waterfall. The capacity of such combination faucet is approximately half as small as of usual combination faucet. As for hot and cold water mixing those combination faucets are similar to other types of combination faucets. Cascade combination faucet is contained almost in all expensive bathroom equipment complete sets.
Materials of which combination faucets are made.
Traditionally combination faucets are made of brass and chrome, but there are also mixed models. For now, the brass remains the best material for combination faucet case manufacturing. Exterior parts of the armature are nickeled and then chromized or enameled for the purpose of corrosion prevention. Chromized combination faucets are more expensive, but their main advantage is that various microorganisms cannot germinate on their surface. Brassy cases encasements, handles of combination faucets, showerheads are often made of polymeric material. Among exclusive models it is possible to find grained coating as well as golden and other precious metals garniture.
Installation of combination faucets.
Installation of combination faucets may be both external and internal – in the wall. The second type of installation is more aesthetic, because mountings remain in the wall and from outside there is only decorative panel with switches. At installation of combination faucet you have to consider features of bathtub or shower and their technical specifications. If you plan to install the combination faucet on a skirting board but not vertically on the wall, then you have to choose specific combination faucet as well as fixing set suitable for that combination faucet.
A lot of companies are engaged in combination faucets manufacturing. It would be better to buy the combination faucets in specialized stores which guarantee quality of goods and work with reliable, well-reputed manufacturers.

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Are you tired of opening up the same kitchen cabinets, every single day? Although many homeowners love their kitchens, including their kitchen cabinets, there are some who are looking for a change.

kitchen, cabinets, kitchen cabinets, looking, remodeling, remodel, home improvement, kitchen cabinet, home, improvement, cabinet, important, change, using kitchen, using kitchen cabinets, cannot, new, online, installed, using,

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Are you tired of opening up the same kitchen cabinets, every single day? Although many homeowners love their kitchens, including their kitchen cabinets, there are some who are looking for a change. If you are one of those homeowners, the ones who are looking for a change, you may want to think about remodeling your kitchen, particularly your kitchen cabinets.
When it comes to kitchen remodeling, there is a common misconception that is mistakenly believed by many. That misconception is exactly what kitchen remodeling is. Many assume that to remodel a kitchen you need to change everything, from the light fixtures all the way down to the floor tiles. While a large number of homeowners do choose to remodel their whole kitchen, there are others who only choose to remodel small portions of it. Whether you are looking to remodel your whole kitchen, all at once, or you if are only looking to remodel a part of it, there is a good chance that you may be in the market for new kitchen cabinets; they are one of the most commonly remodeled parts of a kitchen.
Although choosing a new set of kitchen cabinets may seem like a fairly easy task, it is one that you shouldnt make on an impulse. Since you will be stuck with these new kitchen cabinets, at least until you move or decide to remodel again, you will want to make sure that you get your first choice. There are a number of different ways that you can do this. For the best results, you may want to visit your local home improvement store. When visiting one of your local home improvement stores, you should find a collection of kitchen cabinets on display; in fact, you may find a fairly large number of them on display. Viewing each of these kitchen cabinets is a great way to decide which cabinets would look great installed in your kitchen.
In addition to visiting your local home improvement store, you may also want to examine kitchen cabinets online. Although the shipping for kitchen cabinets is often considered quite high, you may be able to find exactly what you were looking for online. It is advised that you find either an online home improvement retailer or an individual who specializes in making their own kitchen cabinets. In fact, if you are looking for a unique set of kitchen cabinets, a set that you cannot find anywhere else, you may be able to order a custom set of kitchen cabinets. The cost may be more than what you intended on paying, but, as previously mentioned, it is important to get what you want, especially when remodeling your kitchen.
When searching for the perfect set of kitchen cabinets, for your next kitchen remodeling project, it is important to keep a number of things in mind. One of those things is what you will be using your kitchen cabinets for. What you are using your kitchen cabinets for may have an impact on what you can and cannot have. For instance, if you will be using your kitchen cabinets to store your food or your dishes, you will need to make sure that you purchase cabinets that can offer you the most space. While decorative kitchen cabinets are nice, they are sometimes limited on the storage space that they have.
In addition to the size of the storage space, it is also important to examine the size of the kitchen cabinet itself. In the United States, most home improvement stores sell kitchen cabinets that are not fully put together, but they are often precut to size. It may be possible to change the measurements, but you may find it to be difficult and costly to do so. Although you may be more concerned about the color or design of a kitchen cabinet set, it is important to remember the basics. Even the most beautiful kitchen cabinet set will not do you any good if it cannot be installed in your kitchen.
By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to go out and find the kitchen cabinet set that you were looking for. Once you have found the kitchen cabinet set of your dreams, the remodeling can begin. Whether you choose to install your own kitchen cabinets or you let a professional do it for you, your cabinets could be installed in as little as a day or two.

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There are an estimated 36 million deaf and hard of hearing in America, but there is still a growing confusion between deaf and hard of hearing. This article differentiates “deaf”, from “hard of hearing” to the “Deaf community.” Trying to understand each group is important in dealing with treatment that is beneficial to them.
trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship, lifestyle

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There are an estimated demographic figure of 36 million deaf and hard of hearing in the United States. Of this large number, only a few million are considered “deaf” and the remainder are “hard of hearing.” Further confusing statistics is the fact that some “deaf” people may actually be “hard of hearing,” and some “hard of hearing” people may actually be “deaf.”
In previous years, the labels “deaf” and “hard of hearing” were employed as subcategories of the term “hearing-impaired.” During that time, it was used as a generic term that was applicable to anybody with any degree of hearing loss. However, some deaf people objected to the description of their hearing status as “impaired” because they felt that the term also implied that the person was “impaired.” Such degrading terms can actually cause depression and anxiety among deaf people and, thus, this generic label has been dropped.
The deaf and hard of hearing community is very diverse, differing greatly on the cause and degree of hearing loss, age at the onset, educational background, communication methods, and how they feel about their hearing loss. How a person “labels” themselves in terms of their hearing loss is personal and may reflect identification with their relationship with the deaf community or merely how their hearing loss affects their ability to communicate. They can either be deaf, Deaf (with a capital “D”), or hard of hearing.
Interestingly, the lowercase “deaf” is used when referring to the audiological condition of not hearing, while the uppercase “Deaf” is used to refer to a particular group of people who share a common language such as the ASL (American Sign Language) and culture. The members of this group have inherited their sign language, used it as a primary means of communication among themselves, and hold a set of beliefs and their connection to the larger society. They are distinguished from those who find themselves losing their hearing because of illness, trauma, or age. Although these people share the condition of not hearing, they do not have access to the knowledge, beliefs, and practices that make up the culture of Deaf people.
Generally, the term “deaf” refers to those who are unable to hear well enough to rely on their hearing and use it as a means of processing information. On the other hand, the term “hard of hearing” refers to those who have some hearing, are able to use it for communication purposes, and who feel reasonably comfortable doing so. A hard of hearing person, in audiological terms, may have a mild to moderate hearing loss.
To understand hearing loss, it is important to understand how normal hearing takes place. There are two different pathways by which sound waves produce the sensation of hearing: air conduction and bone conduction.
In air conduction, sound waves move through the air in the external auditory canal (the “ear canal” between the outside air and the eardrum). The sound waves hit the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and cause the tympanic membrane to move. Hearing by bone conduction occurs when a sound wave or other source of vibration causes the bones of the skull to vibrate. These vibrations are transmitted to the fluid surrounding the cochlea and hearing results.
Fortunately, there are many treatments that are available for hearing loss. People with conductive hearing loss can have the middle ear reconstructed by an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Hearing aids are effective and well-tolerated for people with conductive hearing loss. People who are profoundly deaf may benefit from a cochlear implant.
For people with hearing loss, it is a matter of deciding whether to treat it as an audiological perspective or as a cultural lifestyle. It’s all about choices, comfort level, mode of communication, and acceptance of hearing loss. Whatever the decision, there are support groups and organizations that represent all deaf and hard of hearing Americans, and advocacy work that can benefit everyone, regardless of the type of hearing loss and background.