Blind vs Deaf

[nosivad_bor]

I'm stilling here jamming out to some old CD's that i've been meaning to upload to my computer. It's bringing back a lot of memories I associate with the songs and it leaves me wondering:

Are the sights I've seen better than the sounds I've heard?

Life would be much more limited without sight, only a few are skilled and brave enough to travel the world alone. And you would only soak up just the smells and sounds, but very hard to communicate without a guide. And I admit that most of my recreational travels were based on sights I want to see. However, those are just a week or two a year, if times are good. Plenty of years have go by without a vacation, but music, it's always there. It's always keeping me company. And the voice of a loved one over the phone is nearly as comforting as their presence in times of tumult. An email never quite has the same emotion, and I suppose one could write a letter, but its not the same. You can read letters of loved ones that are gone, and see pictures, but hearing their voice on an old tape or video brings it back like nothing else.

So I'm still wondering what's worse blindness or deafness. If I had to chose I guess it would be my hearing just because it would be the least disruptive to everyone else around me. But damn if I don't cherish my sense of sound.

 

[crown14]

Didn't know you liked to get wet, dog. Butt-naked. Ill. Sherms. Dust. PCP. Primos. P-Dog. That's what you had. That's what you were smoking, you couldn't taste it?

 

[nosivad_bor]

Still pondering the question and doing research while uploading music. Found this video. This chick is awesome.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sv3tadz5Q3o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Ballah06]

Didn't know you liked to get wet, dog. Butt-naked. Ill. Sherms. Dust. PCP. Primos. P-Dog. That's what you had. That's what you were smoking, you couldn't taste it?

Great movie btw.

 

[dcarr1971]

Rob, dude...take another hit and break out the Doritos...

On a more serious note... You've met my kids, right? My 4 year old (Syd) is hearing impaired and attends the Western PA School for the Deaf...she reads lips and is fully able to both carry on a conversation verbally, and using American Sign Language (ASL). (In fact, she's proven to be able to do both at the same time with completely different people.) She has limited hearing with the use of hearing aids, but with speech therapy you can't tell she can't hear some of what she's saying. Sadly I know a little too much about blindness too. Both of my grandfathers went blind late in life. (One was a non-compliant diabetic, the other suffered from macular (sp?) degeneration.)

Given my perspective, IMO being deaf is far easier to handle...it's not even a tough call... Having limited or no sight is a serious handicap, if nothing else is wrong, then being deaf or hearing impaired is just an inconvenience...

 

[p m]

I think Rob's question was not about which were easier to handle, but which one, if gone, would leave a great void in one's life.
I never thought of that, but hearing is pretty damn valuable. I could play piano in the dark, but seeing it and not being to hear it would be pretty devastating.

 

[SGaynor]

Did you see Bloomberg's interpreter at one of his pressers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFBy4QGNPBE&feature=player_embedded

Hillarious, especially at around 40+ min.

More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM2UQg3Q6_g&feature=player_detailpage

She get's the NY attitude across.

And yes, rather be deaf vs blind - I have a niece and friends whose kids are deaf/have significant hearing problems. You couldn't tell.

 

[dcarr1971]

I think Rob's question was not about which were easier to handle, but which one, if gone, would leave a great void in one's life.
I never thought of that, but hearing is pretty damn valuable. I could play piano in the dark, but seeing it and not being to hear it would be pretty devastating.

Put your hand on it, you can still feel the sound. One of the things that I found really interesting when we first found out about my daughter's hearing is the fact that most deaf kids love loud music because they can feel it...

Losing either your hearing or sight as an adult would be devastating. At least you can still drive and go about your daily life on your own if you lost your hearing. Lose your sight and you're down to depending on public transportation, or catching rides from friends and family. Not to mention having to worry about people re-arranging the furniture or leaving a plunger in the toilet every time you piss them off...

 

[nosivad_bor]

I watched a TED lecture with a woman who became deaf after childhood but is now a serious musician, it's a pretty interesting perspective. She touches on the vibrations, etc. Seems one can enjoy music , in their own way, without being able to hearing it.

Still , I think it really has a lot to do with your age and your place in life. If you've seen it all , you just may want to sit around and remember the sights while you listen to music. If you are young, what nasty disability blindness would be.

 

[kennith]

Blindness is clearly the least desirable.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[JohnB]

My wife is deaf in her left ear. My wife does not wear a sign or let people know. Has caused more than a few problems over the years.

 

[ptschram]

I have lost my hearing more than once due to infection. I also have congenital hardening of the cartilage in my ears, I'll likely be deaf before my father did. It is amazingly difficult to conduct oneself with impaired hearing.

I have worn glasses since I was two. Without them, I cannot walk and certainly cannot walk upstairs safely. I've had my license suspended twice due to not passing the eye exam.

I'll take deaf any day

 

[bri]

I agree with Kennith. It seems pretty clear that being blind is would much more difficult to deal with than losing any other sense.

But that does not mean that I do not value rather highly many things that I have sensed regardless of how.

Its just that sight is so much more important to us.

 

[JohnB]

Loved the move "Book Of Eli" with Denzel Washington. He played a blind ninja bible transporter.