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bunkin's avatar

Would you rather be deaf or blind?

Asked by bunkin (223points) August 3rd, 2008

If you had the choice between the two because you had to give one or the other up, which would you choose?

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20 Answers

damien's avatar

Deaf. I couldn’t imagine not seeing things. I’d rather most disabilities over blindness.

jrpowell's avatar

I would prefer to lose my hearing. I would hate to go without music, but you can always feel music if you turn it up loud and sit on a big speaker.

And I am almost deaf now so it wouldn’t be that different. And if I was blind skateboarding and bike riding would be out of the question.

augustlan's avatar

Deaf. I could not imagine my life without seeing beautiful words on a page.

loser's avatar

Blind. I couldn’t live without hearing music and heck, I could get a guide dog!

Bub's avatar

Neither really, but I’d have to choose deaf.

Skyrail's avatar

Wow. This questions bores into me so much :(

I absolutely love music, but I’m also a photographer.

What do I do!!

If I was to go blind I’d rather go blind after birth but if I was to go deaf I’d rather go deaf at birth. Why? Because if I was able to see then I was blinded I could still envisage things when people described them, or told me what they were. But as for hearing, once you’ve heard something and go deaf…never will you ever be able to hear it again, or anyone describe it to you. Oh the horror.

I can’t answer really. It’s just. No sight I couldn’t drive (then again I’m sure hearing impairs that), take photos, play games…see my family. But if I was deaf. I would never hear my music ever again. Or worse. Ever hear the words ‘I love you’ from my family ever again. Oh my heart would break, such a difficult question. :(

deefolt's avatar

A tuff one but I’d have to go with deaf.

jtvoar16's avatar

I would take both.

I would write each on a card and had the cards to another person, tell them to shuffle the cards, then I would choose one.

Whether I am blind or deaf, or both, or nether, I have realized I have to deal with whatever happens, even though I hate it, I want to live this life to its fullest end, out of spite and arrogance. Thus, faced with losing my senses I would lose them all, but keep on living. I hate life so much, I refuse to let it kill me… yet.

marinelife's avatar

Life without music, without the sound of a child laughing, without the roar of a waterfall, without the whisper of a breeze through the trees, without the lullaby of the ocean, the song of a bird. It seems impossibly bleak.

But if forced to choose, I would choose to look into my loved ones’ eyes, to see the amazing patterns of my dappled dog’s coat, to watch a sunset, to see a raptor soaring high over a canyon, to watch the dance of dust motes in a sunbeam in the woods, to view the majesty of a mountain range.

jtvoar16's avatar

something also to consider: If you suddenly lose one of these senses, you will still remember them… and you will still dream with them…

kapuerajam's avatar

deaf if I was blind I couldent do parkour

Indy318's avatar

I believe over 90% of ones sensory perception of the environment is attributed the eye. If you lose that, its like being unable to intract with one’s surroundings. Lose of hearing is a sacrifice but not equal to one the importance of eyesight. When one sees something, it triggers the entire array of human preception. Food, which requires one to utillize all of their sensory organs, is one of my passion. When I see a certain type of food (e.g. a plate of pasta), i immediately begin to think of how it tastes, smells, and feels as it enters my mouth. Being deaf wouldnt take away this passion of mine, so between the two, I would sacrifice my hearing.

Trance24's avatar

I love music it is a absolute passion of mine. It would kill me to my very core. But to never see again would devastate me. To never see the worlds beauty again, I would never get to see and explore the places I haven’t been. I would never get to pursue my career with animals either, or run without the worry of falling or crashing.

Even if I became deaf I believe I would still be able to hear the music, because it travels that deep. I could hear it in my mind, and move to it anyway, it would be like a sixth sense. My ears may not be able to hear it but my internal being can.

So if I really had to choose I would choose to be deaf.

MacBean's avatar

Deaf. I was going to say blind because there’s always braille and audiobooks, but then I remembered movies. I wouldn’t be able to deal with not being able to see movies, and I already watch everything with captions.

jlm11f's avatar

I would rather go deaf. Sight is important to me because looking at nature’s miracles, into the faces of my loved ones etc, is priceless. As for voices, I know I would always hear “sounds” so to speak. I would imagine what people sound like, I would create music in my head and like jp mentioned, sit next to speakers so i can “feel” the beat. Also, communicating would be aided by sign language, and you might not understand specific words, but you can understand the general “emotions” a person is trying to convey by just looking at their facial expression.

RandomMrdan's avatar

deaf for sure, I’d never want to live without eye sight

stratman37's avatar

Here’s some very inspiring quotes from someone who had every right to feel sorry for herself – but didn’t: Helen Keller.

http://www.quoteworld.org/authors/helen-keller

BadPrices's avatar

Blind for sure.

ProudChervisualian's avatar

I am glad that I am deaf…. Why? I can drive, walk, chat, living my own life etc and also see the beautiful scenery with day and night with sparkling stars. i can do the things like normal people do. read and write, eyes to read and hands to sign…. and write . Music,,, big deal one pro and con too many NOISE POLLUTIONS, WHITE NOISE. I am happy being DEAF. ASL Is the most beautiful language to sign with flying hands free!!!

Blind… isolated , lonely , sit in the pitch black with no see the beautiful scenery. No one talks to. blind dont know what day or night. cant see the sparkling stars up in the sky.
blind what??? hands to read, hands to talk, write braille but friends ????? who????
noise pollution: jack hammer, paver on road, plow.. all noise backfires argue ,,, and more uglist sounds….. yeeeech!!!! I cannot imagine how hearing blind can bear the horrrrified noises poor blind people!

my own view:
Politically, Alexander Graham Bell and Anne Sullivan conned you all by money….. how hearing people do not understand Helen Keller’s UNINTELLIGIBLY SPEECH. Anne Knew her voice… and translating with the twisted words: Helen prefer see than deaf… Maybe Helen might be preferred deaf not blind. Long time ago…. hearing people did not know the AGB was adepting con-artist as his professional career. AGB stole lot of inventors ‘s creations. He stole the telephones that belongs to Antonio Meucci. You want to find out the ugly truth… check it out yourself.

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