A New Question

[doctork]

Would you prefer to be blind or deaf?

OK, we'd all rather be neither, but if you had to pick one, which would you choose?

[doctork]

I have thought about this before, because I've worked in the insurance industry, where being either blind or deaf usually qualifies one for "total and permanent disability."

As I did some research, I learned that deaf people are widely considered "more disabled" because they are relatively cut off from the entire hearing world, while the blind continue to interact normally with friends, family and co-workers, especially given the technological accommodations that have been made.

Because my career and lifestyle depend so much on reading, my first thought was that it would be much worse to be blind.

Then there is the rich culture of the deaf world, with their own language (American Sign language) and traditions. Although cochlear implants can sometimes restore hearing, many deaf people choose not to have that, or not to have their deaf children have the procedure.

I've had deaf patients and blind patients that are employed, work full-time and communicate well with me. That seems easier for the blind, but the deaf often lipread well, and often bring a smartphone of mini-laptop to facilitate discussion.

[liriodendron]

If I choose deaf, does that mean I'll get to have good eyesight? Seriously, my eyes are terrible! Not only can I barely see without glasses or contacts, but I've had cataract surgery and a hole repaired in my retina. However, I just can't imagine being unable to read (or use the internet). I'd miss music, I suppose, and being able to talk on the phone to my kids. But if I HAD to choose between the two, I'd choose to be deaf.

[doctork]

For purposes of this discussion, we'll assume if you're deaf, your vision is good, and vice versa.

One internet board where I post, there are several deaf posters. One posts in ASL, and usually it is quite different from standard written English - so much so, that sometimes another deaf poster has to "interpret" into regular English for the rest of us non-ASL to understand. I wonder how this works - do they have a different keyboard? The deaf patients I see write in standard English so I can understand.

OTOH - at the Storytelling Festival, they have ASL interpreters on stage, signing for the deaf people in the audience, and the deaf storytellers tell in ASL, and the interpreters translate to spoken English. It then becomes evident to the observer how expressive ASL is - quite a bit of phrasing in movement, and acting, involved.

[sailor]

I'm probably not thinking this through enough, but I think I'd rather have my vision than the ability to hear. I love my music yet I think I would give that up to be able to enjoy the visual beauty of everyday life.

Mike

[doctork]

Apr 9, 2009 22:47:20 GMT -5 @sailor said:

I'm probably not thinking this through enough, but I think I'd rather have my vision than the ability to hear. I love my music yet I think I would give that up to be able to enjoy the visual beauty of everyday life.

Mike

This reminds me of a young patient (teeen - early teens) in my practice who had a disease called retinitis pigmentosa. He was gradually losing his vision, so his parents were taking him to all the classic US sight-seeing places - Grand Canyon, Yosemite, DisneyWorld - while he could still see, so he could remember their beauty later on.