Which statement best describes postlingually deaf?

• A. Having lost hearing before learning language
• B. Having lost the ability to hear after developing language; acquired or adventitious deafness
• C. Loss of hearing after education completed
• D. Perceiving the direction & distance of a sound

Answer: (B)

Postlingual deafness refers to a person who loses hearing after they have already developed language. Because language was learned before the onset of deafness, these individuals typically have established communication methods (spoken language, reading, etc.) and the hearing loss is considered acquired or adventitious. This distinguishes it from prelingual deafness, where the loss occurs before language development, and from descriptions that focus on timing unrelated to language, such as simply after education or on basic sound localization skills. The timing relative to language development is the defining feature here, which is why this option best describes postlingual deafness.