In a joint declaration signed in Tokyo in 1991
the International Federation of Hard of Hearing
People and the World Federation of the Deaf agreed
that "hearing impaired" is a term intended
to cover deaf and hard of hearing individuals under a
single category. However, deaf and hard of hearing
persons in most countries reject this definition
because it fails to recognize any distinction
differentiating these two social categories.
The joint declaration recognizes and respects
the right of individuals with hearing losses ranging
from mild to severe to regard themselves as either
"deaf" or "hard of hearing" and
both organizations agreed to recognize the terms
"deaf" or "hard of hearing" only
in their official terminologies.
IFHOH wishes to make it clear that references
to "hearing impaired" people in any
document accessed through this web-site is not the
responsibility of IFHOH nor are they intended as a
contravention of this agreement.
