A new mood is taking hold of Britain's deaf people. This growing confidence is summed up by deaf comedian John Smith, who bounds across the stage in a superhero's cape and shouts, "Deaf power!" More than 8 million Britons have impaired hearing, ranging from the 6 million older people who are mildly or moderately deaf, to the 700,000 whose deafness is more profound. In this special issue, we explore how it feels to be part of deaf culture today