2023 National Association of the Deaf. mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; /* Style Definitions */ Development of Deaf Identity: An Ethnographic Study. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 16.4 (2011): 494-511. in sign language. It doesnt matter if you are deaf or hard-of-hearing, to a Deaf person, hearing loss means deafness. They describe themselves as part of a different heritage and cultureDeaf Culture. This also would mean that children of deaf adults (CODAs) would be considered deaf, since they are native signers, even though they themselves are hearing.