This emoji shows a person indicating deafness, represented here with a rich dark skin tone—an inclusive nod to Deaf culture and the many Black Deaf experiences online and off. The hand near the ear riffs on a sign used in several sign languages to reference being deaf or not hearing, and it’s often dropped into captions about accessibility, interpreters, or “CC on, thanks.” It shows up in posts celebrating sign language, Deaf identity, and disability pride, but also in everyday chats as a playful “sorry, I can’t hear you over my noise-cancelling life.”
On the internet, it doubles as a vibe check: “volume at 0,” “selective hearing activated,” or “I muted your drama, respectfully.” People use it to dodge spoilers, clown bad takes, or flirt—“huh? come closer”—with peak meme energy. It fits right into Zoom chaos (“you’re still on mute”), concert recaps, or anytime AirPods are doing too good a job.
On Apple/iOS, you’ll recognize the clean, front-facing bust with a calm, neutral expression and the index finger held close to the ear, all rendered in Apple’s smooth gradients and saturated colors. The dark skin tone pops with warm shading, and the simple, solid-color top (color varies by platform/update) keeps the focus on the gesture. It’s gender-neutral by default, instantly readable at small sizes, and designed to feel respectful, direct, and unmistakable.
Disqus Leave a comment!
Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
