Discussion Mute, deaf or blind? What scares you the most?

[noname223]

I considered to do a poll but maybe it is inadequate for such a question. Also the question which is the worst seems a little bit questionable. It should rather be a subjective not objective answer.

I had this debate with my dad as a child and we both said without a doubt being blind is way worse than being deaf. I think such an absolute statement seems to be ignorant. Personally, if I had to choose I think I still would rather be deaf than blind. But there are many open questions. Is it a sudden impairement or were you born like that?
I don't know enough about technologies but from what I have heard fixing being deaf seems to be easier than fixing being blind.

If one is born deaf most people struggle to learn languages. So being deaf often implies being mute.
However, there are many deaf people who are able to speak if they were not born that way.

Actually not being able to communicate seems extremely scary to me. I always was scared about a coma in extreme pain and being conscious. Or living as a vegetable without being able to express yourself. And there are cases like that. I think they are good cases in favor of antinatalism. But if you are mute you can still communicate by texting. And I love writing and texting. So being deaf seems to be more scary for me than being mute.

However, it all depends on the circumstances and many factors that I have not specified.

What do you think?

 

[lemonbunny]

most of my social interaction is online anyway, so being mute wouldn't change much hehe. i think being blind is the scariest though, because vision is our strongest sense and protection from danger

 

[derpyderpins]

Music is a huge part of my life, but I'd take mute, then deaf, with blind last. Being unable to speak would be a pain but there are other ways to communicate, plus people couldn't expect me to talk so much lol. A lawyer who can't talk, maybe I could get disability. While I'm torn between deaf and mute, I think you and your dad are right that blind is pretty clearly the worst if you have to be inflicted mid-life. Every second of every day changes drastically and you will need way more help until you learn how to take care of yourself. No computer or gaming even though you know what it is. No forums. No driving. No looking at naked ladies. Yeah, no thanks.

 

[Dot]

B-ing mte = defntly nt fun

= dffclt t/ xplain thngs prprly whn emotnl bcse havng t/ typ evrythng & ppl speakng fastr mves convrsatns on b4 cn ctch up

Am nt def bt am terffid of musc nw s/ = nt as tho cn listn n.ewy

Slf wld nt lke 2 b stck in hed w/o audble dstractns tho

B-ing blnd wld b wrse givn tht slf cnnt us th/ othr 2 'snses' t/ thr advntge

 

[Artemisia]

Blind is the one that truly scares me. I'm very visually oriented, I think even more so than the average human. Mute sucks, but I don't talk much anyway and could make do with just writing. Deaf kinda sucks too, because it removes a lot of our way of perceiving the world, but it could still be manageable. But blind? It's one of the very worst things that could happen to me.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

I wouldn't mind being mute, but being blind or deaf would probably be hard to get accustomed too, especially being blind. The idea of becoming blind honestly terrifies me more than becoming deaf, since I feel like I wouldn't be able to cope with it very well. I understand that there are a lot of blind people who are able to get by quite easily in life (though, they still gave their own struggles, of course) but I just don't think that I would be able to adapt that easily to it. I'm not a very adaptable person.

 

[FuneralCry]

Blindness is what terrifies me a lot, honestly just the fact that such could happen is enough to make me always prefer to not exist. Human existence with the potential for unlimited, extreme suffering truly is something I'd rather avoid no matter what, I fear ending up in a situation of way worse agony all the time.

 

[greebo6]

Blindness absolutely terrifies me but deafness is a unpleasant prospect.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Being blind is definitely the worst. It wouldn't even be possible to browse this site or any of the internet without outside assistance. It would also remove the most autonomy since I'd have to get used to mere walking and goodbye driving to wherever I feel like whenever I want.

Music matters a lot to me too so I'd also not want to be deaf but the place I live actually has a lot of deaf people so I feel like it would be easier to adapt to this if it happened to me.

I could handle being mute. Yeah it would suck not being able to sing or do funny impressions anymore but my voice is pretty terrible so maybe me being mute would actually be a good thing for everyone's ears.

 

[etherealspring]

i wouldnt mind being mute, i dont rlly like talking that much anyway. i love music, but tbh id take being deaf over being blind. being blind kinda just seems like a major pain in the ass. it seems scary and difficult to adjust to

 

[N33dT0D13]

I'd be even more miserable without music so deaf easily scares me most, whereas I'm already quiet IRL, could still write and can type pretty quickly so I feel that being mute wouldn't hinder me much.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Blind. Being blind scares me the most

 

[Ironborn]

Blind without a doubt, the other two I reckon I could manage but being unable to see? Sounds awful.

 

[ad astra]

Deaf.
That would be scariest for me. I love listening to music, and living in a totally soundless world would suck for me tbh

As for blind, that one is also scary, but, to be fully honest, and I know some people will already be thinking I'm crazy, stupid, or lazy for this, what broke the tie between deaf and blind is partially that if I were blind, I wouldn't still be dealing with society pushing me to start driving, particularly at my age. Thing is, I don't trust myself with that because of how shitty the drivers are around my area, requiring a split-second reaction time I do NOT have.

However, I know, for sure, I could handle mute.
I already don't really like to speak, and prefer other methods of communication anyway (typing, writing, tts, etc.). Only problem is our speech/vocal-obsessed society that insists I must speak. I'd finally be free of that societal pressure to speak, for the most part, with exception to ignorant/ableist people.

 

[ColorlessTrees]

I think I would be extremely miserable without music, but blindness scares me more. My vision is already on the decline to the point that it scares me sometimes, and my other senses have also noticably declined with my health. Probably would push me very far very fast if I ever had to deal with total loss of either tbh.

And muteness, while I can deal with it, if I ever had to deal with it again, I would die inside. I spent my entire childhood and early adolescence with selective mutism and the damage has still been done because I'm still "too quiet". I hated the constant negative attention, being singled out and treated like I was stupid/didn't understand at school by teachers and kids alike, and the general handicap it became. I don't even want to imagine how bad it would be as an adult.

 

[failure383]

Definitively blindness. Everything interesting for me in this world works only when received through vision. For everything else I could find a workaround or an alternative, but being blind is really a horror scenario. Deafness would suck very much too, but I feel like I wouldn't be totally excluded from the human experience as with blindness. Muteness is different from the other two, because it's not about receiving stimuli and it would be much easier to mitigate than the other two.

 

[sugarb]

I considered to do a poll but maybe it is inadequate for such a question. Also the question which is the worst seems a little bit questionable. It should rather be a subjective not objective answer.

I had this debate with my dad as a child and we both said without a doubt being blind is way worse than being deaf. I think such an absolute statement seems to be ignorant. Personally, if I had to choose I think I still would rather be deaf than blind. But there are many open questions. Is it a sudden impairement or were you born like that?
I don't know enough about technologies but from what I have heard fixing being deaf seems to be easier than fixing being blind.

If one is born deaf most people struggle to learn languages. So being deaf often implies being mute.
However, there are many deaf people who are able to speak if they were not born that way.

Actually not being able to communicate seems extremely scary to me. I always was scared about a coma in extreme pain and being conscious. Or living as a vegetable without being able to express yourself. And there are cases like that. I think they are good cases in favor of antinatalism. But if you are mute you can still communicate by texting. And I love writing and texting. So being deaf seems to be more scary for me than being mute.

However, it all depends on the circumstances and many factors that I have not specified.

What do you think?

1. Mute
2. Deaf
3. Blind

As much as I love yapping I'm comfortable just typing.

I'd miss music (a lot) but I think I'd ultimately miss looking at stuff more… Though either way I'd probably have a grass is greener take

 

[Forever Sleep]

Blindness then Deafness then Muteness. I'd rather be dead than have any of them though. Any one of them would be debilitating I imagine.

 

[samdocheon]

Already mute most of time so I'll pick that one.