# Deaf or Blind? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863 "2010-08-29T03:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/1 "2010-08-29T03:57:56Z")
When you wake up tomorrow, either your hearing or your vision will be gone. If you could choose, would you rather be deaf or blind? Discuss. (My boyfriend and I have different choices. I’m just curious to see what others would decide.) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/2 "2010-08-29T04:00:05Z")
I’m flabbergasted by anyone who would choose to be blind. I would choose to lose my sense of hearing every time. We’re dependent on our sight beyond belief. Missing out on people’s voices, on songs, etc, would suck, but blindness would suck far, far more. ---
**Author:** ![palacheck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e57/32.png) [@palacheck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palacheck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/3 "2010-08-29T04:12:56Z")
Deaf. I guess if I were a musician of some sort I’d go the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/4 "2010-08-29T04:15:46Z")
Deaf. It’s a no-brainer. But this question actually came up one time with a friend who was blind from birth. Since he had no conception of what sight could possibly be like, he insisted being deaf would be much worse. The rest of us didn’t really want to press the issue and try to make him feel he was pitiful. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/5 "2010-08-29T04:31:50Z")
I’ve thought about this a lot, and I think it boils down to this. Suddenly going blind means having to relearn how to take care of yourself in your own surroundings and having to trust and depend on others to help you out in the world. Suddenly going deaf means being cut off from most other people, having to rely on alternate means of communication, and feeling isolated from everyone else who communicates with speech. I think it would be really scary to be blind, but I think it would be lonelier to be deaf, and I think I would suffer more from the loneliness. This conclusion frankly surprises me because I’m on the very introverted end of the spectrum and almost never feel lonely (and honestly don’t wish to connect with more people than I already do), but I feel like I’m fooling myself to think it wouldn’t bother me to walk into a crowded room with people chatting happily and not hear a single thing. So I voted blind, but please, universe, don’t take this as asking for it. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/6 "2010-08-29T04:43:49Z")
Deaf. Most of the things I like(Internet, hockey, drawing) are visual. On the other hand, I enjoy silence. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/7 "2010-08-29T04:47:54Z")
Being deaf would be devastating–giving up music in particular. But being blind sounds terrifying. I have a hard time with directions even with sight. How do they know where to go? How do they know they’re going the right way? To cross the street? It sounds like the most awful feeling in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/8 "2010-08-29T04:49:26Z")
Deaf. Clearly. It would suck to have to talk with my hands, but it’d suck more to bump into things constantly. I’d be forever afraid of walking into a pole. I’d rather give up music than walking. ETA: I’ve interacted with both the deaf and the blind. The deaf seem to get on OK. The blind…well, they don’t. They’re always getting lost, running into people, and standing around confused. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/9 "2010-08-29T04:57:08Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Deaf. Clearly. It would suck to have to talk with my hands, but it’d suck more to bump into things constantly. I’d be forever afraid of walking into a pole. I’d rather give up music than walking. > > ETA: I’ve interacted with both the deaf and the blind. The deaf seem to get on OK. The blind…well, they don’t. They’re always getting lost, running into people, and standing around confused. So much for that sixth sense. ☹ I always kind of hope that maybe blind people develop some kind of Daredevil esque savvy and that’s how they cope. I guess the reality isn’t that romantic. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/10 "2010-08-29T04:59:28Z")
> [@palacheck](#): > > Deaf. > > I guess if I were a musician of some sort I’d go the other way. This. I am a musician and a composer, but I’m _still_ sorta leaning towards ‘deaf’. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/11 "2010-08-29T05:03:27Z")
Blind, no doubt about it. The world is far more visual. Think about shopping for food. Having to ask someone if you have Wheaties or Cheerios. Is this hamburger, pork sausage or ground turkey? Is this cheddar or jack cheese? What box of pasta do I have? How do you get to the store? You can’t drive anymore. And so on. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/12 "2010-08-29T05:04:29Z")
I chose deaf for the reasons already listed. Although I’m a musician, I also am into the visual arts. Being blind would also threaten my independence. Oddly enough, if I were to be born one or the other, I would have to choose blindness. I can’t imagine learning language skills without the sense of hearing and that would tend to isolate an individual. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/13 "2010-08-29T05:06:01Z")
Now I want to change my answer. Well, let’s just say that both would suck royally and leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/14 "2010-08-29T05:11:23Z")
I meant I wouldn’t want to be blind. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/15 "2010-08-29T06:16:54Z")
There’s a saying attributed to Helen Keller (and a whole bunch of other people) “Being blind separates you from things, but being deaf separates you from people.” I luckily don’t know whether or not that’s true - but I can see how it might be. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/16 "2010-08-29T08:04:18Z")
I’d rather be deaf. Losing music would suck, but it’d suck a lot more to lose reading. Plus, it’d be so much easier to get by in society as a deaf person than as a blind one. About the only thing I couldn’t do would be attend a live concert or play (even in lectures, I could manage by reading the slides). I already use sign language to communicate with family members if we’re in an especially noisy setting or want to talk privately in public, I could get used to doing that full time. I think I’d just feel so helpless if I were blind. Imagining it is kind of terrifying. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/17 "2010-08-29T09:08:15Z")
It’s a very difficult decision but I voted for blindness. If I were to never ever hear my favorite music again, well, I would be devastated beyond recognition. I want to read more but one can get books on tape and/or ask someone to read them aloud. On the other hand, being blind would be a huge pain in the ass; I much value my ability to drive to the places I have to go, and I would probably be unable to work in my current field. I would pretty much be wholly dependent on someone else. But that would for sure be the lesser of two evils. What clinches it for me is that I am acquainted with someone who will never see again and I’m sad for her, but I also heard about a person who needed a surgery that required both his auditory nerves to be severed. On the day before the surgery he blasted his favorite classical music at maximum volume because he knew he would never hear it again. When I heard of this person’s circumstance I wanted to cry for days afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/18 "2010-08-29T13:22:37Z")
I picked deaf. The disability would be less. I can’t imagine life without music but I could still feel the beat and see where I’m going. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/19 "2010-08-29T13:59:23Z")
I think deaf, though I would really miss not being able to hear sounds that I love, like songbirds and cat purrs and horse hooves on the hard ground. But one of the few things I have recurring nightmares about is going blind. I’m ridiculously nearsighted anyway, I can barely function without corrective eyewear. I have the classic coke bottle glasses, even with all the modern lenses and treatments they give them, and the contacts are hard to get made in my prescription. I like books on tape, but reading books is one of life’s true joys. I like the feel and smell of a book, but I also love the act of reading, the look of the words, the layout of the pages, the cover art, the fonts and embellishments. That would be very very hard to lose I think. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863/20 "2010-08-29T14:17:21Z")
No question at all-I’d rather be blind. I can learn braille, and audio books are available, but _nobody_ is going to take my music from me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-or-blind/551863.md?page=2)