How do you think everyone would react if Fitz was deaf?
Well that would depend entirely on whether he was born deaf or if he became deaf later on in the series/his life! If he was born Deaf then it'd just be a normal thing with no reaction, but if he lost his hearing later on then it'd be treated a lot more like a medical problem to fix. And my response got long so it's under the cut!
If he was born deaf or became deaf early on in life, he'd likely be Deaf with a capital D, which is different. Being Deaf involves culture and community and the whole Deaf experience, while lowercase deaf refers only to the inability to hear. If he's been Deaf his whole life, then I don't think there really would be a reaction. That's just part of who he is and who he's always been. Fitz would adapt to his world with the tools that are available, and his friends and family are supportive and would do what they could to accommodate that.
It hasn't been mentioned in the series, but he'd probably learn a sign language (whichever one the elves have) and go about his life that way, relying on writing when he has to communicate with someone who doesn't know sign. If there isn't a sign language in their world, then throughout the course of his life he'd probably create one of his own that his family grows to understand. Sign languages aren't universal, but there are certain gestures that everyone can come to understand that he'd naturally build off of in his attempts to communicate. Things like pointing, miming drinking a glass of water, etc. So I think if he's been Deaf his whole life he'd either learn a sign language or create his own method of signing if one isn't available.
When Sophie is introduced to the series I don't think it'd be much different in terms of their friendship. She's open minded and willing to adapt, so the main hiccup I think would be her learning to understand how Fitz communicates because she hasn't been around him her whole life. There's also the matter of whether or not he'd be sent out to look for her, but I think he still could and that it's just the first events of them meeting (like him calling out after her) that would be different. There is the telepathy thing, but it's Fitz may not think in the enlightened language, and even if he did his telepathy likely wouldn't be his main form of communication given he hasn't always had it.
But if he lost his hearing for whatever reason later on--I'm assuming damage sustained during a fight or something--then it'd be treated a lot more like a medical issue. His hearing would be something that he had and then lost, rather than something he has no memory of losing because he didn't have it in the first place. None of his friends or family would be prepared for this situation. He'd probably rely a lot more heavily on his telepathy for communication, speaking with his mind and reading thoughts because his main method of communicating has been severely impacted.
He'd probably think of himself as deaf and not Deaf, and his deafness would be something he may want a remedy for. Elwin would say things like "I will fix this" and people would have the attitude that this was like a victory for the Neverseen or something. That they'd struck this blow and it was cruel and unfair. It's possible that it could go a Biana direction and he'd have a "these scars are a part of me" moment where he embraces becoming deaf and stops trying to hide from it, but it's not guaranteed. I think his recovery/journey afterwards would be one striving towards being a similar to his was prior to losing his hearing as it was afterwards.
I can envision a sort of "you'll get your hearing back" attitude from his friends because elven medicine is so superior and because it would be so difficult to adapt to, they're all striving to get him back to where he was.
At least up until he decides whether or not that's what he wants. Because I think if he decided that he wasn't going to focus on trying to get his hearing back and was instead going to focus on figuring out how to adapt--whether that's learning sign or something else--that the people in his life would be 100% supportive of whatever he wanted. They'd learn and practice sign along with him, look into Deaf history and Deaf culture. Find out if there are other Deaf elves, and if not Sophie would be entirely willing to look into and find things out about Deaf human culture to share instead.
So those are the main possibilities I'd expect if Fitz were deaf. If he was born Deaf, then it'd be as normal to the people in his life as everything else about him. It may alter how some things play out, but that's just how things are for him. But if he lost his hearing later in life, then it'd be considered a medical issue and treated as such until he shared that he wanted to approach it otherwise. That may be initiated by others like Sophie sharing what she knows about Deaf humans and how it's treated, but either way I don't think that path would be immediate.
That got long but hopefully some of that was interesting!!
