It's a Question of Hearing

Fate taps you on a shoulder and says, "I'm going to take away your sight, or your hearing. Which one do you wish to keep?" I'm certain you think both. But Fate persists and imposes a one-hour time limit before she carries out her promise. What would be your answer? Let's revisit this old story.

Many thoughts bombarded your mind, but it settles on the importance of color. It adds such an impressive dimension to the world. So you conclude it would be difficult to be without sight. After all, nature is hard to give up. With a dazzling array of color, she announces the Earth's rejuvenation in the spring, supplies our tables in the summer, in the fall, she colorfully prepares the environs for the sleep of winter, and during winter, she unleashes a cleansing beauty before repeating the cycle. You think, "How can I surrender the evidence of her actions?" Further you wonder, "Without my sight, I loose my independence. I can't give that up." It seems the optimal response is to surrender hearing.

Continuing your private analysis, the case for sight strengthens with the recall of the public's empathy towards the blind. They step aside for them, they often defer to them when boarding and exiting a bus, and when a blind person crosses a street, some even lend a hand. Most people show patience in their interactions with a blind person. However for the hearing impaired/the deaf, the situation is often different. The hearing impaired is more likely to experience the dreaded phrase, "Can't you hear?" or more likely to see the chilling "Are you stupid ?"-look on a person's face. Patience, courteously extended to the blind, is often absent in hearing / non-hearing interactions. If the public sees the ears, they assume the ears work.

These thoughts force you to conclude that to give up sight, you separate yourself from things, to give up hearing, you separate yourself from people. Which is more important; isolation from people or from things? The answer is a personal choice, but the story suggests an undeniable importance to hearing.

This purpose of this note is to bring into focus the importance of hearing, and to encourage its care and protection. Volumes have been written about ear protection. I implore you to read and heed it. For those who are experiencing hearing problems, make an appointment with an ear specialist. It may be the savior of your lifestyle. In particular, tinnitus, the roaring noise in the ear, should be checked immediately. It can be the prelude to a tumor.

For hearing problems, I recommend The House Ear Institute. Since its inception, in 1946, the House Ear Institute has led the way in defining the causes of hearing and balance disorders, improving medical/surgical procedures to treat them, and presenting prosthetic devices to augment patient health. The Institute's discoveries have helped millions of people receive successful treatments. A fifteen-minute Internet search may be a lifesaver to a loved-one's sinking in a hearing problem. It gave me a second chance.