[ Wrote by @UrWolfy26, please do not copy/steal for your own research! ] [ Condition - Moderate Hearing Loss .. Affected: Bitterkit of CavernClan ] Moderate deafness, also known as moderate hearing loss, is when the ear is damaged or otherwise in a way that hearing is impaired. With moderate deafness, noises sound muffled and some sounds are harder to hear than others. Moderate deafness is caused by a number of things. One thing is damage, when the ear organs have been damaged so that they can no longer serve their function as well. Another is disease. Some diseases, like meningitis, can cause hearing loss, as it can affect ear organs. A third reason could be loud noises. Exposure to a single / few extremely loud or just loud noises in general could impact hearing, or it could be caused by exposure to many loud noises over time that causes hearing loss. Sometimes it can also be caused by genetic factors, like negative genetic mutations that can happen randomly. In Bitterkit's case, as she gets older, her hearing will only get worse, not better. In fact, by the time she is a warrior, Bitter[suffix] will have reached the range to be considered severely deaf. She will primarily rely on SSL for communication. Severe deafness research will be attached soon. The condition of moderate deafness makes it difficult to hear soft voices, follow conversations, and needing to have people say things again so they can understand them. As for watching TV or listening to the radio with this condition, it is difficult for moderately deaf people to understand what is being said. Turning up the volume, as such, will not help, as it is the issue of not being able to UNDERSTAND the words that are being said. Speech can sound muffled or hard to understand with moderate hearing loss, and it will be difficult for Bitterkit to follow group conversations like Gatherings or Clan meetings. Bitterkit, having moderate hearing loss, will struggle to understand some soft voices and words. Voice sounds like softer consonants, and in some cases, vowels and softer/younger kits' voices will be harder to hear for Bitterkit. Because Bitterkit will not be able to hear as well, she'll have to practice lip-reading, which when a person watches the speaker's mouth to see what shape their mouth is making to determine what they are saying. A combination of hearing muffled sounds and lip-reading can help a person with moderate hearing loss understand what another person is saying to them. Some things make lip-reading hard, such as shouting, mouth-obstructing features (such as shaggy fur, or in human cases, beards or mustaches), group discussions (as it's hard to track each person's mouths since the speaker changes rapidly), distant speakers (such as those talking from afar), and speaking to someone at night (low visibility of a person's face). These are not all the things that may make lip-reading hard, but these are common examples. Contrary to some beliefs, over exaggerated/slow mouth movements are harder to understand than regular speaking, as well as overly loud voices not helping with understanding. It is easiest for Bitterkit to lip-read cats who are speaking normally in clear voices. Bitterkit, as well, will want to learn SSL (shores sign language). In some cases, Bitter will find it easier to see and interpret sign language than actually lip-read or strain to hear, especially as her hearing gets worse. Bitter's hearing loss and her condition worsening was caused by a genetic mutation at birth, which is possible for some cases of deafness. Down to specifics. Interactions with other cats will be mostly unchanged from other cats without hearing loss, the only exception being occasional mix-ups where Bitterkit mishears and misunderstands words. She will also sometimes prefer to use sign language, which will become more consistent in her conversations as an older apprentice when her hearing is bordering on the severely deaf level. As such, she'll also want to share the use of sign language with other cats of her Clan. SRPs are provided in the comments for reference. The first is a thread showing her hearing loss affecting the way she perceives the world, the second is just me practicing writing SSL in-rp, although I understand irp she will not automatically know SSL without being taught. Sources: https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/degrees-of-hearing-loss https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss Graphic novel "El Deafo" by Cece Bell. (I think this is the best source, as it gives an inside look on living with hearing loss).
