hard of hearing

Meaning

This is a polite, standard way to describe someone who has difficulty hearing, but is not completely deaf. It is often used to describe elderly people or anyone who struggles to hear clearly in noisy environments. It is respectful and widely used in both formal and informal contexts.

Examples

• You'll need to speak up a bit because my grandfather is hard of hearing.

  You'll need to speak up a bit because my grandfather is hard of hearing.

• The theater provides special headphones for patrons who are hard of hearing.

  The theater provides special headphones for patrons who are hard of hearing.

• Ever since his ear infection, he has been a little hard of hearing in his left ear.

  Ever since his ear infection, he has been a little hard of hearing in his left ear.

• Please turn on the subtitles; I'm getting a bit hard of hearing.

  Please turn on the subtitles; I'm getting a bit hard of hearing.

• She didn't answer you because she's hard of hearing, not because she's ignoring you.

  She didn't answer you because she's hard of hearing, not because she's ignoring you.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ My grandmother is hard to hear.

  ✓ My grandmother is hard of hearing.

  Saying someone is 'hard to hear' means their voice is quiet or difficult to understand. 'Hard of hearing' means the person themselves has trouble listening.

• ✗ He is a hard of hearing person.

  ✓ He is hard of hearing.

  While grammatically possible, 'hard of hearing' is almost always used as a predicate adjective after the verb 'to be' (e.g., 'He is hard of hearing') rather than directly before a noun.

Related Expressions

Practice

• You don't need to shout, but speak clearly because he is a bit ___.

  💡 Describe someone with mild hearing loss.

  Show answer

  hard of hearing

• Many elderly people become ___ as they get older.

  💡 Having physical difficulty listening.

  Show answer

  hard of hearing