In legal terms, deafness is defined by degree of hearing loss. These degrees include profound or total deafness (90 dB - 120 dB or more of hearing loss), severe (60 dB - 90 dB), moderate (30 dB - 60 dB), and mild deafness (10 dB - 30 dB of hearing loss). Both severe and moderate deafness can be referred to as partial deafness or as hard of hearing, while mild deafness is usually called hard of hearing.
Deaf community and Deaf culture are two phrases used to refer to cultures comprised of people who are culturally Deaf as opposed to those who are deaf from the medical/audiological/pathological perspective. When used in the cultural sense, the word deaf is very often capitalized in writing, and referred to as "big D Deaf".
Big D Deaf communities do not automatically include all those who are clinically or legally deaf, nor do they exclude every hearing person.
According to Baker and Padden, a person is Deaf if he or she "identifies him/herself as a member of the Deaf community, and other members accept that person as a part of the community." Deaf culture may include those who attended deaf schools, children of deaf parents, and some sign language interpreters.
The primary languages of those who identify themselves as Deaf are signed. Deaf communities also often possess social and cultural norms that are distinct from those of surrounding hearing communities.
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