They're people, although I've heard that the deaf community can be pretty hard on the deaf who have hearing aids of some sort.
I probably already posted in here before, but my baby brother is deaf. He was born with Waardenburg Syndrome, and one of its common symptoms is being deaf. His mom has the same syndrome, but she fortunately was only deaf in one ear. I can tell you that he's such an adorable baby. I was sad to hear he was deaf, but he's very happy and goofy (and quiet).