distress signal vs signaling

distress signal and signaling both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
distress signal	Yes	No	No	No
signaling	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, signaling is a hypernym of distress signal; that is, signaling is a word with a broader meaning than distress signal:

distress signal: an internationally recognized signal sent out by a ship or plane indicating that help is needed
signaling: any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message

Other hypernyms of distress signal include sign, signal, signalling.

distress signal (noun)	signaling (noun)
an internationally recognized signal sent out by a ship or plane indicating that help is needed	any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message