Deaf hearing

Deaf hearing refers to a condition in which an entirely deaf individual is able to automatically react to an auditory stimulus, without being consciously aware of this ability. When an patient is bilaterally anacusis [or completely deaf in both ears] they begin to rely more strongly on their other senses. The physiology of functional hearing involves the external ear capturing sound waves, causing the tympanic membrane [or eardrum] to vibrate to continue additional processes within the inner ear to eventually send nerve impulses to the auditory center of brain. Because the function of hearing relys on picking up external sound waves, an anacusic patient is more likely to notice the feelings of the vibrations in sound waves rather than relying on what they would normally hear. As a patient relys on 'feeling sounds' rather than hearing sounds, they subconsciously hear with their sense of touch, therefore reacting to auditory stimuli without actually hearing sound.

In the same aspect, anacusic patients also adapt to their disability by relying on sight. While a patient with normal auditory function relys on their sight to observe their surroundings, ones who cannot hear use their sense of sight to observe perhaps more notably. For example, if a one person were to walk in a room from an angle that the one could not see, a person with normal otic function would most likely pick up that someone was coming in the same room as them from hearing a door open. Without actually hearing or seeing one person walk in the same room as them, an anacusic person would rely on seeing objects around them move or feeling the vibrations of the door shutting and the person walking towards them.

In deaf hearing, anacusic patients tend to have stronger working senses than patients with normal functioning senses. These patients intuitively combine touch, sight, smell, and even perhaps taste, to adapt to the function that they are missing.

See also

• Blindsight