Sensory disabilities are described as when the capacity to hear, with amplification, is limited, impaired, or absent and the capacity to see, after correction, is limited, impaired, or absent.

Sensory disabilities commonly fall under the following headings: 1. Deafness (Also referred to as Hearing Impairment)
People with hearing impairments are those who:
• cannot hear at normal levels because of factors that affect transference of sound.
• cannot easily understand what is said to them and therefore cannot respond confidently.
• are pre-lingually deaf. They may have difficulty communicating in English if sign language is their first language.

The degree and type of hearing impairment will vary depending on the cause of the hearing impairment. The extent of someone’s ability to hear and understand sound or recorded information will depend on he degree on the hearing impairment. Hearing impairments can be hereditary, or caused by a variety of factors including, disease, exposure to noise, toxins, and natural aging.
• Mild impairment – person may not even be aware of the inability to hear certain sounds.
• Moderate impairment – person has some difficulty in hearing.
• Severe impairment – difficulty in following speech and hearing other environmental sounds.
• Profound impairment - person’s range of hearing is extremely limited. They may use sign language.

In the majority of cases, people who acquire a hearing impairment retain some residual hearing and continue to communicate in spoken language.