INTRODUCTION: Hearing impairment may lead to superior visual skills. Visual function allows the individual to register the characteristics of the external world immediately. This information is then integrated with that derived from other senses, promoting the overall development of the individual. Given the inconclusive findings and the lack of national studies in this field, it is necessary to evaluate the specific skills involved in visual processing among deaf individuals. OBJECTIVE: To establish the speed of visual processing among deaf individuals. METHODS: This exploratory study evaluated the speed of processing during visual and oculomotor tasks in 37 deaf participants (26 men and 11 women, mean age 20 years and 2 months). Subjects were evaluated based on their performance on 2 tasks designed to provide the processing speed index (PVI), which were extracted from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: a "code" subtest (rate of written reproduction of graphic symbols) and a "search symbols" subtest (speed and accuracy in finding target symbols). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The results showed that most participants scored within normal limits on both subtests, indicating that these participants showed no increase in processing speed when compared to the normative group.
