I am always afraid that if I used the term Hard of hearing, people will equal my hearing loss as elderly ... which most of them have mild or moderate hearing loss. I have severe hearing loss in both ears and it is nothing like old age hearing loss.
But I am also afraid that if I use the term deaf, people think I can't hear at all, even with hearing aids. So I stick with severe hard of hearing.
and using the term hearing impaired for all hearing loss does not help people acknowledge what kind of accommodation the person need (like ASL, speaking up, speak clearly, etc.)
