THE DEAF IN THE UNITED STATES
Meaning of Term "Deaf" in the Present Study
By the "deaf" in the present study is meant that element of the population in which the sense of hearing is either wholly absent or is so slight as to be of no practical value; or in which there is inability to hear and understand spoken language; or in which there exists no real sound perception. In other words, those persons are meant who may be regarded as either totally deaf or practically totally deaf.[1] With such deafness there is not infrequently associated an inability to speak, or to use vocal language. Hence our attention may be said to be directed to that part of the community which, by the want of the sense of hearing and oftentimes also of the power of speech, forms a special and distinct class; and is known, more or less inaccurately, as the "deaf and dumb" or "deaf-mutes" or "mutes."
In our discussion it is with deafness that we are primarily concerned. Deafness and dumbness are, physically, two essentially different things. There is no anatomical connection between the organs of hearing and those of speech; and the structure and functioning of each are such as to preclude any direct pathological relation. The number of the so-called deaf and dumb, moreover, who are really dumb is very small—so small actually as to be negligible. Almost all who are spoken of as deaf and dumb have organs of speech that are quite intact, and are, indeed, constructively perfect. It comes about, however, that dumbness—considered as the want of normal and usual locution—though organically separate from deafness, is a natural consequence of it; and does, as a matter of fact, in most cases to a greater or less extent, accompany or co-exist with it. The reason of this is that the deaf, particularly those who have always been so, being unable to hear, do not know how to use their organs of speech, and especially are unable to modulate their speech by the ear, as the hearing do. If the deaf could regain their hearing, they would have back their speech in short order. The character of the human voice depends thus on the ear to an unrealized degree.
Number of the Deaf in the United States
According to the census of 1900 there were 37,426 persons in the United States enumerated as totally deaf;[2] and according to that of 1910 there were 43,812 enumerated as "deaf and dumb."[3] Hence we may assume that there are between forty and fifty thousand deaf persons in the United States forming a special class.[4]
The following table will give the number of the deaf in the several states and the number per million of population, according to the census of 1910.[5]
NUMBER OF THE DEAF IN THE SEVERAL STATES
| No. | No. Per Million of Population | No. | No. Per Million of Population | ||
| United States | 43,812 | 476 | Montana | 117 | 311 |
| Alabama | 807 | 377 | Nebraska | 636 | 531 |
| Arizona | 53 | 259 | Nevada | 23 | 281 |
| Arkansas | 729 | 464 | New Hampshire | 191 | 443 |
| California | 784 | 329 | New Jersey | 667 | 263 |
| Colorado | 243 | 304 | New Mexico | 177 | 540 |
| Connecticut | 332 | 297 | New York | 4,760 | 522 |
| Delaware | 59 | 291 | North Carolina | 1,421 | 644 |
| District of Columbia | 114 | 344 | North Dakota | 239 | 414 |
| Florida | 216 | 286 | Ohio | 2,582 | 539 |
| Georgia | 956 | 366 | Oklahoma | 826 | 491 |
| Idaho | 114 | 349 | Oregon | 241 | 359 |
| Illinois | 2,641 | 468 | Pennsylvania | 3,656 | 477 |
| Indiana | 1,672 | 619 | Rhode Island | 208 | 383 |
| Iowa | 950 | 427 | South Carolina | 735 | 485 |
| Kansas | 934 | 552 | South Dakota | 315 | 539 |
| Kentucky | 1,581 | 690 | Tennessee | 1,231 | 563 |
| Louisiana | 774 | 468 | Texas | 1,864 | 478 |
| Maine | 340 | 458 | Utah | 232 | 621 |
| Maryland | 746 | 576 | Vermont | 126 | 354 |
| Massachusetts | 1,092 | 324 | Virginia | 1,120 | 543 |
| Michigan | 1,315 | 468 | Washington | 368 | 323 |
| Minnesota | 1,077 | 519 | West Virginia | 713 | 584 |
| Mississippi | 737 | 410 | Wisconsin | 1,251 | 537 |
| Missouri | 1,823 | 553 | Wyoming | 24 | 159 |
From this table the largest proportions of the deaf appear to be found in the states rather toward the central part of the country, and the smallest in the states in the far west and the extreme east. The highest proportions occur in Kentucky, North Carolina, Utah, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, Virginia, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, New York, and Minnesota, all these states having over 500 per million of population. The lowest proportions are found in Wyoming, Arizona, New Jersey, Nevada, Florida, Delaware, Connecticut, Colorado, Montana, Washington, Massachusetts, California, District of Columbia, Idaho, Vermont, Oregon, Alabama, and Rhode Island, in none of these states the number being over 400 per million. Why there should be these differences in the respective proportions of the deaf in the population of the several states, we cannot say; and we are generally unable to determine to what the variations are to be ascribed—whether they are to be set down to particular conditions of morbidity, the intensity of congenital deafness, or other influences operating in different sections; or, perhaps in some measure, to the greater thoroughness with which the census was taken in some places than in others.
Age When Deafness Occurred
The vast majority of the deaf lost their hearing in early life, and most of them in the tender years of infancy and childhood. More than ninety per cent (90.6, according to the returns of the census) became deaf before the twentieth year; nearly three-fourths (73.7 per cent) under five; over half (52.4 per cent) under two; and over a third (35.5 per cent) were born deaf. Deafness thus occurs in a strongly diminishing ratio with advancing years.[6] These facts may be indicated by the following table,[7] which shows the percentages of those who became deaf at different ages.
THE DEAF ACCORDING TO AGE OF OCCURRENCE OF DEAFNESS
| At birth | 35.5 |
| After birth and under two | 16.9 |
| Under two years | 52.4 |
| 2 and under 4 | 17.1 |
| 4 and under 6 | 7.3 |
| 6 and under 8 | 4.5 |
| 8 and under 10 | 2.8 |
| 10 and under 12 | 1.8 |
| 12 and under 14 | 1.6 |
| 14 and under 16 | 1.3 |
| 16 and under 18 | 1.0 |
| 18 and under 20 | 0.8 |
| Under five | 73.7 |
| 5 and under 10 | 10.5 |
| 10 and under 15 | 4.0 |
| 15 and under 20 | 2.4 |
| Under 20 | 90.6 |
| 20 and under 40 | 5.7 |
| 40 and under 60 | 2.4 |
| 60 and under 80 | 1.1 |
| 80 and over | 0.2 |
Ability of the Deaf to Speak
We have just seen that "dumbness" frequently follows upon deafness, or that it is usually believed to be an effect of deafness. It is true that with the majority of the deaf phonetic speech is not employed to any large extent; but there is at the same time a fair number who can, and do, use vocal language. This speech varies to a wide degree, in some approximating normal speech, and in others being harsh and understood with difficulty; and it depends in the main upon three conditions: 1. the age at which deafness occurred, this being the most important factor; 2. the extent to which the voice is cultivated; and 3. the remaining power of the ear (which is found but seldom).[8]
Of the deaf persons enumerated in the census,[9] 21.5 per cent were reported able to speak well; 15.8 per cent imperfectly; and 62.7 per cent not at all. In other words, somewhat over a third of the deaf can speak more or less, one-fifth being able to speak well, and one-sixth imperfectly, while over three-fifths do not speak at all. The dependence of the ability to speak upon the age of becoming deaf is clearly in evidence here, the proportion of those not able to speak showing a great decrease with the rise of this age. Thus, of those born deaf, 83.5 per cent cannot speak at all; of those becoming deaf after birth and under five, 74.6 per cent; of those becoming deaf after five and under twenty, 26.5 per cent; and of those becoming deaf after twenty, 3.4 per cent.
Some of the deaf are able to read the lips of the speaker, or as it is better expressed, to read speech, or to understand what is being said by watching the motions of the mouth. This in reality is a distinct art from the ability to speak, though popularly they are often thought to be co-ordinate or complementary one to the other. Like the ability to speak, it varies in wide degree, from the ability to understand simple and easy expressions only, to the ability to follow protracted discourse; and like the ability to speak, it is found in increasing frequency with the rise of the age of becoming deaf. According to the census,[10] 38.6 per cent of the deaf are able to read the lips. Of those born deaf, 28.0 per cent have this ability; of those becoming deaf after birth and under five, 37.1 per cent; of those becoming deaf after five and under twenty, 64.3 per cent; and of those becoming deaf after twenty, 43.6 per cent.[11]
Means of Communication Employed by the Deaf
If the larger number of the deaf do not use the speech which is used by those who can hear, how is it that their communication is carried on? The chief method is a certain silent tongue peculiar to the deaf, known as the "sign language,"[12] a part of which may be said to be the manual alphabet, or the system of finger-spelling,[13] the two usually going hand in hand. In this way most of the deaf are enabled to communicate with each other readily and fluently. But this language, or at least the greater part of it, not being known to people generally, the deaf frequently have to fall back on writing to convey their ideas in communicating with hearing persons. This, while slow and cumbersome, is the surest and most reliable method of all. In addition, as we have seen, a certain number of the deaf are able to use speech, which of course has manifold advantages. These are the several methods, then, of communication employed by the deaf; but they are not usually employed singly, as most of the deaf are able to use two or more. According to the census,[14] the sign language alone or in combination with other methods is employed by 68.2 per cent, or over two-thirds of the deaf; finger-spelling by 52.6 per cent, or over one-half; writing by almost the same proportion—51.9 per cent; and speech by 39.8 per cent, or some two-fifths. It is probable, however, that the proportions employing the sign language, finger-spelling and writing, either singly or with other methods, are really somewhat larger. In this case, likewise, we find that the lower the age of becoming deaf, the smaller is the proportion of the deaf with speech, which shows again the connection of the ability to speak with the age of the occurrence of deafness. Of those born deaf, speech alone or in combination with other methods is used by 18.2 per cent; of those becoming deaf after birth and under five, by 27.4 per cent; of those becoming deaf after five and under twenty, by 75.3 per cent; and of those becoming deaf after twenty, by 97.7 per cent.