People who say that deafness is not a disability are living in denial.
To them, "disability" is something bad, something negative, something to be
fixed. Therefore they don't want to be disabled so they deny that they're
disabled. They say "NO! My deafness is not bad, negative, nor does it need
to be fixed! I'm not disabled!"
But what they don't understand is that disability is not bad nor negative,
nor does it mean that it needs to be fixed. Disability merely means that
one lacks the ability to do something.
I lack the ability to hear. Therefore I'm disabled. I'm OK with that. I'm
not denying reality and trying to pretend to be something I'm not. 90% of
the population can hear just fine and have that ability. Thus the remaining
people are disabled in some way, shape, or form.
What I am not, however, is handicapped.
It's only a handicap in the sense that it prevents the person with the
disability from doing something.
Since there aren't many things that I allow my deafness to prevent me from
doing, it's not much of a handicap.
The only time it's really a handicap is when I try applying to be a
telemarketer.