DEAFNESS

Partial or complete inability to hear, often caused by disease, accident or loud noise, either intense and sudden or prolonged. In some cases persons are born deaf. Another cause of deafness mentioned in the Bible is demon-possession.—Mark 9:25-29.

Jehovah, the Creator of the ear (Prov. 20:12), required his people to show consideration for the deaf. The Israelites were not to ridicule or call down evil upon deaf persons, for the deaf could not defend themselves against statements they could not hear.—Lev. 19:14; compare Psalm 38:13, 14.

Obviously, then, Jehovah’s words at Exodus 4:11, where he refers to himself as ‘appointing the deaf,’ do not mean that he is responsible for all cases of deafness. However, Jehovah can cause a person to become literally deaf, dumb or blind for a particular reason or purpose. The father of John the Baptist was temporarily made dumb because of not believing. (Luke 1:18-22, 62-64) Also, because of violating God’s law, as in the case of sex relations, for instance, a person may, by contracting a venereal disease, become deaf. Thus indirectly Jehovah may be viewed as the source of the deafness. God can also “appoint” persons to be spiritually deaf by allowing them to remain in that state if they so choose.—Compare Isaiah 6:9, 10.

Jesus Christ, during his ministry, demonstrated miraculous curative powers by restoring the hearing of physically deaf individuals on several occasions. (Matt. 11:5; Mark 7:32-37; Luke 7:22) This makes certain that under his rulership over the earth all afflictions, including deafness, will be eliminated.

The Bible also refers to figurative or spiritual deafness. The psalmist compared the wicked who refuse to listen to direction to a cobra that makes itself deaf to the voice of charmers. (Ps. 58:3-5) Similarly, in Isaiah’s day, the Israelites, although having ears, were as though deaf because of being slow to listen and respond to Jehovah’s word. (Isa. 42:18-20; 43:8) However, after the foretold restoration from captivity, God’s people would cease to be deaf spiritually. They would hear the word of Jehovah, that is, pay attention to it. (Isa. 29:18; 35:5) Jesus Christ, while on earth, opened many ears of understanding, enabling the cured ones to act upon what they heard.—Matt. 13:16, 23.