Many hearing people have ideas about what it is like to be deaf. Hearing people may think it is only about not being able to hear. However, few hearing people realize that there is a deaf culture that is unique from the hearing culture.

The deaf culture is the art, politics, attitudes, shared language, and common activities of the deaf community. Some deaf culture facts can provide insight into what it really means to be deaf.

Some hearing people believe that people who are deaf would like to hear if they could. This is not necessarily true. Some deaf people do seek medical treatment for their hearing loss. Some receive cochlear implants. But, many deaf people have no desire to be hearing.

Parents of deaf children may share the advantages that their children have demonstrated even at an early age. If a deaf child does not want to hear what their parents are saying, the child only needs to close their eyes or turn their heads away from their signing parents.

Some deaf culture facts that hearing people may find surprising is that deaf people often consider positives of being deaf. A hearing person may have difficulty understanding that there are any advantages of being deaf until they think of noise pollution, noisy work environments, or that American Sign Language is never interrupted by noise.

Deaf culture has interesting art in the realm of painting, drama, and many other areas that is unique to deaf culture. Some deaf actors and screenplay writers focus on writing and performing plays and movies specifically for deaf audiences.

American Sign Language (ASL) is the language of the deaf in the United States. The development of American Sign Language includes the manual English that was taught in deaf schools for the deaf and the signs that deaf children had been using at home.

One little known deaf culture fact is that Alexander Graham Bell intended his inventions of the telephone and microphone to be used to assist people with hearing loss. Alexander Graham Bell taught at deaf schools. His wife and mother both had hearing impairments.