There are people who live without the ability to hear or see. Some live without the ability of both. For this week’s blog post, I decided to pose a choice question to 6 different people. If you had to lose the ability to see or hear, which would you choose and why?
The majority answered hearing. One interviewee explained her answer by saying, “I think I could be more independent. While it would be hard to communicate, I could learn sign language and how to read lips. If I couldn’t see, I would have to rely on other people to guide me.” She brought up an interesting point about dependency. If you were blind, would you be a burden on others? However, some blind people use seeing dogs and technology so that they don’t have to be dependent on others. Another interviewee chose to lose hearing because “if you lose your hearing, you only lose one aspect of the world which is sound, but if you lose your sight, you lose so much more.” She believes that being able to see the world is much better than being able to hear it. However, people have different opinions as to which is more important.
One of the interviewees who chose to lose sight is a musician. She explained her answer by saying, “I couldn’t listen to or make music without hearing. Also, it would be extremely more difficult to take part in conversations or enjoy nature.” For her, the beauty of the world doesn’t come from images but through sound. Another answered the sight also but for a different reason. She said she would lose sight “because I have a very vivid imagination.” She believes that losing her sight wouldn’t stop her from being able to “see”. She can create images in her mind. However, she wouldn’t be able to do that if she lost her hearing.
Overall, sight and hearing are incredible gifts. Sometimes we need to slow down and be thankful for just the basic senses we have that some people unfortunately do not. Maybe next time you’re in nature take a moment to see the beauties that come through both image and sound; I know I will.
Amy's Questions 