Information for Individuals who Lost Hearing Later in Life

Late-deafened usually means deafness that happened post-lingually, any time after the development of speech and language. Often it means after the age of adolescence (13 and above).

Late-deafened adults (LDAs) are usually unable to understand speech without visual aids such as speech-reading, sign language, and/or Communication Access Real-time Transcription (CART).  They also may have lost their hearing suddenly or gradually as a result of inherited causes, accident, illness, medication, surgery, noise or other factors. LDAs also can share in the common experience of having been raised in the hearing world and having become deaf rather than having been born deaf. 

For more information and resources, visit the Association of Late Deafened Adults, Inc.