Deafficiency – is being deaf a waste of time?
Jan 08, 2009 | Tags: Being Deaf Rocks, Daily, deafness
My brain earlier today: “I wonder how many minutes in life I waste just because I am deaf.”
This new, random thought caught me off guard. Could it be possible that all this time, my life has been inefficient and a waste of valuable minutes because of my deafness? All my life, I have had the same thoughts that come and go, like these:
I could be making dinner faster if I could just use my ears to hear what is being said while I cook.
I could be writing notes in class efficiently rather than staring at an interpreter because I’m afraid I’ll miss something that will be on a test.
I could be reading a good book instead of looking up lyrics and trying to hear/learn how the lyrics go in a song I fall in love with.
I could be learning so much more at work if I could overhear discussions about projects and so on.
I could be finishing my work faster at the computer if I could talk to my co-workers across the room rather than having to walk over and lipread.
I could lay in the complete darkness enjoying intimate conversations rather than having to turn on some kind of low light.
I could be more in tune with current events if I could hear the radio or overhear people talking on the train.
I could laugh along with everyone at work, if I could just hear what they are laughing about.
I could have my hamburger ready if I could just pop out the cell phone and call the burger joint ahead of time.
I could watch all the videos on the internet with 100% understanding if I could hear because they don’t have freaking captions.
I could go on and on, but you get the drift.
But now, 29 years later, I have this BRAND NEW thought about minutes being wasted as a deaf person. People talk about how much time we waste sleeping away our life, how much time we waste on a computer, and such.
I started to calculate the minutes. About 5 minutes per dinner, 365 days a year, times how many years I’ve started cooking. About 2 hours a day at work, times 260 days a year (excluding weekends). About 2 minutes per text or email message rather than using the phone, times holy shit, forget it. This math will never be accurate!
After doing silly calculations, my brain thought, “But you have the magic of even having a mode of communication! If it wasn’t for sign language, cued speech, or ability to write/read/lipread. you wouldn’t have communication at all!” Then, “Saz, you’re not at your accounting job at the moment! What are you calculating for?” So true, my mushy brain. So true. Sure I lose many minutes or take longer to do stuff, but things could be worse. Much worse.
So, how many minutes do I waste in my lifetime being deaf? None. Having the ability to communicate at all is a blessing. And, I’m lucky to even be able to talk and hear pretty good to the point where some people forget or don’t believe that I’m deaf. Being ALIVE is even a bigger blessing.
just a random note to say that i love reading your random blogs/thoughts– please do keep ‘em a-coming!
and happy NYE to you & jeff!
~shilpa
it is a blessing to be able to communicate. and being alive. as much as i’m going through now… it’s hard to be positive because before I could communicate somewhat, now it’s incredibly frustrating. and I also try not to take my sight for granted, for it might not always be here.
and this post is a reminder to me, that I’m lucky to be alive, and I do have a good life. so thank you for this.
Interesting how we have different experiences of being deaf. You’re more cognizant of what you’re missing because you have a small taste of sound. I, on the other hand, am more ignorant (and therefore a bit apathetic, I guess) of things sound-related.
It seems that the upside for me is that it’s easier to get used to it, while you’ve always got that bit of sound teasing you. The upside for you is that at least you have some ability to hear and be aware of the noises in your environment, while I have none!
But at least we can communicate deafficiently, whether that means efficiently or inefficiently.
just make sure you stay away from bioethic philosophers because this post would definitely be considered as evidence that people with disabilities have a “lesser quality of life”. but that’s something not even worth getting into! :-p
but think of how much time we do save bc we are deaf…
*we can sleep uninterrupted in noisy environments because noises such as fire engines, thunder, etc. don’t wake us up in the middle of the night.
*we can be more efficient in our work because we don’t get distracted as easily by background noise (that is, if we can practice willpower with other distractions! :-p)
*we can get out of long winded conversations with people we’d rather not be talking to by saying “i’m sorry, my battery’s dead, i’ll talk to you later!”
* and p.s. email is always faster than the phone at least with dealing with appointments etc!
some of us do auditory therapy to better recognize/process the sounds that we hear, but then again there goes the time that we invest in that!
and one more thing to be thankful for – TECHNOLOGY!!!
This would be fun for you and your friends to do:
http://www.plungemd.com/index.php
join the MCJA mavericks team
Shane-
As always, loved this blog! AMEN to being alive!!!
Your brain is awesome! Keep at it.
Yeah, would’ve been nice if I am able to hear things. I could be in the Air Force flying these beautiful jets, could been playing guitar and bass,…. coulda would shoulda, oo well. Facts of life are life’s not fair. Do I dwell upon it? Naw, I don’t have time for despair.
Hmmm. But wasting time is also a blessing in disguise. It helps our mind process more efficently by just idle thinking.
Beside, we Deaf/HoH often give unique perspectives than hearing people.
I am impressed with the thoughts you give regarding the topic but no matter what, I am glad you are alive and I am able to see you grow into a law-abiding, productive person. There are so many cliches one could use but you and all of those that commented have the right attitude to survive in this world.
Insightful!
Analogy: I’ve always thought my life would be easier if I was straight.
But we need to be who we are. Adversity makes us stronger!
Wasting time is a beautiful thing in my opinion. If we didn’t waste time in general, we wouldn’t appreciate life to begin with. Being alive is moot if you don’t appreciate it. Here’s to making sure you live your life HOW you want to. It’s so important that we do that.
I like this Sarah. I definitely can relate why you wrote this on many levels, yet everyone has their own story to share. So true about being alive. Amen to that.