Hearing loss is a partial or complete loss of hearing. People with hearing loss have difficulty perceiving their environment acoustically.

5% of the world's population is affected by hearing loss. The cause of hearing impairment can be genetic and congenital. Deafness can also be caused by complications at birth, accidents or strokes of fate. It can be caused by diseases such as middle ear infection or meningitis, as well as by tinnitus or sudden deafness. Hearing loss is also a sign of old age.

The consequence of hearing damage is also reflected in the fact that verbal communication is difficult to impossible. If you are deaf from birth on, you are often deaf and dumb. In case of severe to complete hearing loss, the help of an interpreter in sign language is possible. Sign language is an alternative language for people with severe hearing impairment to communicate with others. Communication takes place through gestures on the face, hands and body. Sign language, however, is not a universal language but, like spoken language, depends on every country and even on different variations.

Deaf people can participate in media events such as the news thanks to sign language translation and text subtitles. Unfortunately, there are very few subtitled films available. The BITV (Barrier-Free Information Technology Ordinance) aims at a clear improvement of this, also for deaf people, by providing clear guidelines for implementation.