Some terms and information for any readers who do not know:

American Sign Language (ASL) - the language expressed by movements of the hands and face primarily used in the United States and most of English-speaking Canada. It is descended from Old French Sign Language, originating at the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, CT founded by Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet. Though users of ASL in the Americas read and write in English, ASL is completely unrelated to British Sign Language (BSL) or Auslan (Australian Sign Language). 

Langue des Signes Québécoise (LSQ) - Quebec Sign Language, the language expressed by movements of the hands and face primarily used in Ontario and New Brunswick in Canada. It is a result of Catholic priests in the mid 1800s mixing American Sign Language and Langue des Signes Française (LSF) together to educate deaf children and adolescents.

The above listed languages are the primary two modern-day signed languages in the East Kingdom.

Deaf (WITH a capital D) - adjective, referring to deafness from a socio-cultural perspective, referring to those who are immersed in Deaf community using a signed language as a primary form of communication. Many Deaf people are pre-lingually deaf (deaf before learning to speak/sign/communicate). 

deaf (with a lowercase d) - adjective, referring to a complete lack of hearing power, whether the deaf person is part of the culturally Deaf community or otherwise. People who use the term deaf but do not use sign language/interact with the Deaf community remain integrated in the hearing community, such as the friends and family they have had all their lives.

tactile communication - generally speaking means nonverbal communication such as body language or touching, but with sign refers to communication with a deafblind person (combined vision and hearing loss) using a signed language or other form of manual communication (such as tracing, braille, tactile fingerspelling, and more.

hearing loss - partial to total inability to hear. Not everyone with a hearing loss is completely deaf. Other terms you may hear someone use when referring to their hearing loss is "hard of hearing" or "hearing-impaired." You may also hear "Deaf Gain" as a term of empowerment for Deaf people reframing their lives away from hearing 'loss' and toward the positive perspectives of their lived experience. 

Both people with hearing loss (to any degree or stage) and people within the Deaf community may utilize some form of hearing technology (hearing aids, cochlear implants, etc.). Use of these technologies does not necessarily indicate comprehension of spoken communication, regardless of their primary mode of language (spoken or signed).