difficulty vs impediment

difficulty

noun
  • An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal. 

  • Physical danger from the environment, especially with risk of drowning 

  • The state of being difficult, or hard to do. 

  • An objection. 

  • An awkward situation or quarrel. 

  • That which cannot be easily understood or believed. 

impediment

noun
  • A hindrance; that which impedes or obstructs progress. 

  • Baggage, especially that of an army; impedimenta. 

  • A disability, especially one affecting the hearing or speech. 

How often have the words difficulty and impediment occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )