In order to study the interaction of the deaf and the hearing, surveys were made in Frederick County, Maryland. Eighty deaf persons were studied by social casework techniques, and 1017 hearing persons were interviewed. Specialized data were obtained from interviews with manufacturers, merchants, health personnel, and clergy, data which indicated contact with the deaf, knowledge of local conditions among the deaf, and general knowledge of the deaf and deafness. Implications drawn in summarizing the study were that the deaf were not a homogeneous group, but they did have in common varying degrees of difficulty in communication, difficulty which handicapped them in many ways. Although none of the difficulties faced by the deaf was found insuperable, their successful adjustment demanded planning by both the entire community and the deaf individual, and, if the hearing community were to participate effectively in planning for the welfare of the deaf, its members had to have social contacts with the deaf and a practical knowledge of deafness and the problems of the deaf. Also provided are explanations of the project's methodology and its results concerning the deaf (membership and participation in groups, family life, and individual adjustment) and the hearing (quantitative-qualitative comparisons on social contact with and knowledge of the deaf and on social characteristics). (JD)