Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

14 results found in hearing.

Auditory agnosia (Sound agnosia, Acoustic agnosia)
A neurological condition characterized by difficulty recognizing or distinguishing sounds despite having intact hearing. People with auditory agnosia can hear sounds but may struggle to identify what …
Bone conduction (Bone conduction hearing, Bone anchored hearing)
Bone conduction is a method of sound transmission that delivers audio vibrations through the bones of the skull directly to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear. Bone conduction technolog…
Cochlear Implant (CI)
A surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to individuals who are deaf or have severe hearing loss. Unlike hearing aids which amplify sound, cochlear implants bypass damag…
Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST, Sound Intolerance)
Decreased sound tolerance (DST) is an umbrella term for conditions in which everyday sounds are perceived as uncomfortably loud, threatening, or emotionally distressing. It encompasses hyperacusis (ab…
Hard of Hearing (HoH, HH)
A term describing people with hearing loss ranging from mild to severe who typically have some functional hearing, often with the assistance of hearing aids or other amplification devices. Unlike many…
Hearing Aid (Hearing Aids)
An electronic device worn in or behind the ear that amplifies sound to assist people with hearing loss. Modern hearing aids include digital signal processing, directional microphones, and connectivity…
Hearing Aid (HA, BTE, Behind-the-Ear)
An electronic device worn in or behind the ear that amplifies sound for individuals with hearing loss. Modern hearing aids include features such as Bluetooth connectivity, directional microphones, and…
Hearing Loss (Hearing Impairment, Hard of Hearing, Deafness)
A partial or total inability to hear sounds, ranging from mild hearing loss to profound deafness. Hearing loss can be congenital or acquired, and becomes increasingly common with age, affecting approx…
Intralingual Subtitling (Same-language subtitling, SLS)
The practice of transcribing and synchronising audio content into text in the same language as the spoken audio. Intralingual subtitling differs from interlingual (translation) subtitling and is parti…
Listening Fatigue (Auditory Fatigue)
The mental and physical exhaustion experienced from sustained effortful listening, commonly reported by people who are Hard of Hearing or use hearing aids and cochlear implants. Listening fatigue can …
Phonophobia (Sound Phobia, Ligyrophobia)
Phonophobia is an intense fear or aversion to specific sounds or loud noises that goes beyond simple discomfort, often leading to avoidance behaviors such as fleeing from environments where triggering…
Speech Intelligibility (Speech Recognition Score, Word Recognition)
A measure of how well speech can be understood by a listener, typically expressed as the percentage of words or sentences correctly identified under specific listening conditions. Speech intelligibili…
Usher Syndrome (Usher's Syndrome)
A genetic condition that is the most common cause of combined deafness and blindness (deafblindness). It is characterized by sensorineural hearing loss present from birth and progressive vision loss f…
Word deafness (Pure word deafness, Auditory verbal agnosia)
A specific type of auditory agnosia in which a person can hear speech sounds but cannot comprehend spoken words, despite having normal hearing and the ability to read, write, and speak. People with wo…