Summarized List: Status Effects
A Deafened creature can't hear, and so suffers penalties to Perception involving sound. This effect can be temporary or permanent.
Deafened 1: A creature that is hard of hearing always hears as though there is background noise, taking a -4 penalty to Perception checks involving hearing.
Deafened 2: A creature that is totally deaf automatically fails Perception checks involving sound. A totally deaf creature can only communicate with creatures it can see through lip reading and bodily gestures.
This effect can be temporary or permanent, depending on its cause. Creatures can temporarily receive Deafened 1 as a result of loud noise in the background. In these cases, the effect is removed as soon as the source of noise is removed.