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If you woke up deaf . . .


MMAharaja

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. . . what would be your biggest regret?

My biggest regret would be that I spent so much time listening to the same songs over and over when I could have been exploring new music every day, especially classical music of all eras.

Presumably everyone on this forum has had the pleasure of enjoying music, which is a feeling that's impossible to put into words. I was in a very large class today with several deaf students, and I started thinking about how much they are missing out on. Then I realized that there are so many bands, composers, and styles of music that I've never even heard. I've listened to several Zeppelin, Maiden, Sabbath, and Beatles songs thousands of times. They're like sonic comfort food, and I'm like a fatty. I also realized that I've been doing worthless things like watching reality TV when I could have been practicing guitar and learning theory. That is going to change. I don't want to squander the gift of hearing.

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I would be missing the sound of my family's voices, the waves on the ocean, frogs and crickets on a summer night, jingle bells, baby noises, animal and bird sounds and water falls, tennis ball thwacks, cheering crowds, rain on my skylight, ....

Those are the kind of sounds I would miss the most.

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I would be missing the sound of my family's voices, the waves on the ocean, frogs and crickets on a summer night, jingle bells, baby noises, animal and bird sounds and water falls, tennis ball thwacks, cheering crowds, rain on my skylight, ....

Those are the kind of sounds I would miss the most.

Would you have any regrets?

In any case, while all those sounds are wonderful (except baby noises) I have to say that only one of the sounds you mentioned can give me euphoria like a good song can.

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Would you have any regrets?

In any case, while all those sounds are wonderful (except baby noises) I have to say that only one of the sounds you mentioned can give me euphoria like a good song can.

I would only regret the times I told my children to be quiet :( And time at the beach when I wasn't actually on the beach listening to the waves.

If any of my favorite artists put out new music, I would be disappointed not to be able to hear it. But I could have someone describe it to me.

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I would not like it at all. :(

But it would be nice to be able to turn off external noise like rap music, thumping car stereos, car alarms, barking dogs, etc. :D

But to not be able to hear music would be the worst. Poor Beethoven. :(

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But to not be able to hear music would be the worst. Poor Beethoven. :(

The thing about Beethoven is that he had a relationship with music that none of us can relate to. When I'm listening to the 9th Symphony, I get the feeling that he knew exactly what it sounded like without ever hearing it.

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I would first regret the fact that I would not be able to hear the kind and gentle voice of my mom, the hearty, cheerful and re-assuring voice of my dad, the sound of birds chirping in the morning and the little mundane things which we all do tend to take for granted such as the sound of a car, the usual din of city life and not being able to listen to my favourite bands and artists ever again!.....cry.gif A wise old man once said : "There is so much to hear but so little time" and "Our ears indeed have the potential to be our biggest explorer".

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Besides the obvious of missing past and future music, I would really miss things that center me, like hearing your loved one breathing next to you (or their voice), or the wind through the trees when going on walks, or water lapping on a shore. Regrets...hmm...well, I wonder what the desert sounds like...just places I've never been to. Funny thing is, the last couple of days I've made a point to turn everything off, unplug, and close windows. Sometimes the city din gets too aggravating. Silence is wonderful, but a lifetime of it would be a terrible lot indeed.

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Not long time ago I found this great obscure book in my library: Marlen Haushofer - The Garret (but I see on Wiki that it's not translated into English). It tells the story on a woman (the book is narrated at 1th person) who suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, all deaf. It's a psychological novel, and it follows, with the aid of flashbacks, her personal experience with it: the alienation, the betrayals... And one day, when she's really on the edge, her hearing come back. But nothing is the same.

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"... My hearing has grown steadily worse over the last three years, which was said to be caused by the condition of my belly..."

I just thank the Lord I don't have to depend on 18th century doctors and dentists. Care for a quick bleed ? :blink:

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Forgot to mention that I'd miss the sound of those old theatre lights warming up, the ones in the shoe-string budget theatres complete with ghosts. So a regret as of now would be not having worked on enough productions. I'm actually trying to remedy that of late so hopefully it won't be a regret.

One thing I probably wouldn't regret hearing is Dave on five fresh pots :P Incidentally, I watched it muted today and for some reason his hyper spasmodic jitters were even funnier!

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Some good reply's to a difficult question to truly post to some one who has never been deaf, having selective hearing my self, some time's "tuning out", is some thing I can do if I'm not happy with the sound(s) I'm hearing or, if I just want to hold off on an answer for a second while I'm concentrating on some thing else.

As for people that go deaf in later life, it's again hard to say but, I think that Beethoven was so proficient with music by the time he was losing his hearing it didn't mater to much as he was one of the better one's in the day.

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The thing about Beethoven is that he had a relationship with music that none of us can relate to. When I'm listening to the 9th Symphony, I get the feeling that he knew exactly what it sounded like without ever hearing it.

But not to be able to hear a full live symphony I think would be heartbreaking.

:(

There's a great video out called 'Beethoven Lives Upstairs'

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