The difference occurs in the placement of the tongue or in the back of the throat, where they cannot be seen. Because of this, a person who lipreads relies heavily on sentence context and residual hearing. Often using a synonymous word will clarify the confusion because the new word is easier to lipread. There is no typical hard of hearing person. People of all ages and races can have a hearing loss.
Some people assume that only senior citizens have problems with hearing loss.
In reality some people are born with a hearing loss and others loose their hearing through an accident, illness, or age. Individuals with a hearing loss communicate in a variety of ways. Some learn sign language and communicate through interpreters. Some prefer to lipread and speak for themselves. Never assume that all individuals with a hearing loss are the same.