What the research actually looks at
The papers gathered here cluster around deaf and hard of hearing people's lives, but none of them examines the specific moment of a partner crying. One study explores how care partners support deaf and hard of hearing adults with diabetes, focusing on the strain of ongoing support and gaps in education rather than on emotional reactions to tears [1]. Another surveys intimate partner violence in the deaf community, reporting that 44% of respondents described domestic violence in a past relationship and 7% in a current one, with relationship tension as a predictor [2]. Neither measures crying or being triggered by a partner's tears.
A third paper looks at how deaf migrants learn Swedish Sign Language and Swedish in adult education, finding that mixing languages is common but only helps when teachers use it thoughtfully [3]. A fourth is a brief narrative fragment in which a woman's criticism is described as triggered by rejection she senses from hearing people, with deaf peddlers present in the scene [4]. That is about rejection, not tears, and it does not tell us how a deaf partner responds to crying.
The one clue about crying comes from parenting, not partnership
The most relevant source is a developmental review of crying across infancy, childhood, and beyond. It notes that when considering the immediate causes or triggers of crying, one must account for the fact that deaf parents do not respond appropriately to their crying child [5]. This is a statement about deaf parents and a child's cries, and the review frames it as part of a broader discussion of how tears function between people, including a spouse, friend, or coworker [5].
That distinction matters. A parent failing to respond appropriately to an infant's cry is not the same as an adult being emotionally triggered by a romantic partner's tears. The review does not report a study of deaf adults in couple relationships, and it does not describe what a deaf partner feels or does when their partner cries. Reading it as an answer to the partner question would stretch the evidence past what it supports.
Why the question stays open
The gap is partly one of topic. The care partner study is about the burden and unmet needs of supporting someone with diabetes, not about tears [1]. The intimate partner violence study is about prevalence, predictors, and support systems, and it emphasizes that easy communication, through a signing therapist or qualified interpreter, matters when seeking help [2]. Those findings suggest communication access shapes how deaf people navigate difficult emotional situations, but they do not measure a reaction to a partner's tears.
So the honest answer is that the supplied evidence is silent on the exact question. The nearest signal, that deaf parents may not respond appropriately to a child's crying [5], is consistent with the idea that hearing status can affect how tears are perceived or answered, but it is a suggestion about parenting, not proof about partners. Whether deaf adults feel triggered by a partner's tears remains untested in these papers.
Sources used in this answer
Care Partner Experiences in Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adults With Diabetes
Care partners of deaf and hard of hearing adults with diabetes often feel overwhelmed by ongoing support needs and want more education, but the study does not address reactions to a partner's tears.
Intimate Partner Violence in the Deaf Community
In a sample of 167 deaf and hard of hearing adults, 44% reported domestic violence in a past relationship and 7% in a current one, with relationship tension as a predictor and communication access essential to seeking help.
Translanguaging practices in adult education for deaf migrants
In adult education for deaf migrants in Sweden, translanguaging is common but only helpful when teachers use it consciously, and it does not address emotional responses to tears.
Growing old in silence
A narrative fragment describes a woman's criticism as triggered by sensed rejection from hearing people, without examining deaf adults' responses to a partner's tears.
Developmental aspects of crying: Infancy, childhood, and beyond
A developmental review of crying notes that deaf parents do not respond appropriately to their crying child, framed within a broader discussion of tears between people including spouses.