If you had to lose either your sight, your hearing, or the use of your hands, which would you choose?

interesting question. Speaking as one who didn't have the use of my hands (or arms, for that matter) for a while, I can definitely say I wouldn't choose that one!

I said hearing, for a number of reasons. Obviously, any of these would be tough. The thing is, there's pretty much nothing a deaf person *cannot* do, although it often takes some finessing. But if you're blind you are much more limited. I guess if you lost the use of your hands, perhaps you could get prosthetics, but my understanding is that the best of these are still fairly clumsy and often result in considerable pain. So hearing, awful as that would be, would be the easiest of these three to lose.

Can't decide. Perhaps hearing, but... not, definitely, I can't choose, sorry!

I wouldn't want to lose any of these and it's scary just thinking about them. But if I was to lose something I would pick hearing. I think sight is so very important and allows us to see the beautiful things in life. Granted, hearing beautiful things is just as valid. Use of the hands is also very important and I wouldn't want to lose that.

Hearing first. I'm not sure if I would "choose" to lose sight next, and switch from painting to sculpture, or my hands, and learn to paint some other way.

I love music, but I need to be able to see my computer screen and type with my hands.
Also, not being able to hear or speak would provide me with an excuse to be shy and reserved.

My hearing is my career, so that's out. Between the other two, I believe I could adapt better to the loss of sight than the loss of my hands.

loss of hearing probably impacts day to day living the least, at least for me.

hearing. I couldn't stand not being able to see.

I said sight. Hearing would no doubt be easier, as others have said, but being a keen musician, I'd miss music to much. Yes, I know deaf people can sense the vibrations, but it can't be the same. Whereas, there are blind musicians (e.g. Jeff Healey) who can play the guitar like a master . "You don't need eyes to see, you need vision."

I wrote hearing, but now that I think about it, I sure would miss music. I think that I would rather be able to see things and work things around me than be able to simply hear them or hear and see them, but not be able to use my hands. I'd sleep better at night anyway!

I voted for hearing, but I may be biased. My grandfather, my brother and many of my friends are deaf so I do not see it as a big disability. Plus I already know how to sign, so I'd be a step ahead. Loosing my sight I think would make my life so much harder. I would miss music being deaf, but at least I could still get around and drive..and I just see it as less crippling than blindness. As for my hands.. you stay away from them you!!

Haven't we already a survey like this?

I had a great grandmother who had no lower arms, and she learned to paint with her feet when she was a small child. She became a professional artist, not well known but good enough to make a living from selling her work. I have a watercolor of hers which is one of the most beautiful paintings I've ever seen. P.S. I'd be interested in knowing who chose "use of hands" and why *** Timmi. I just checked, and the answer is no, we haven't already had a survey like this one.

There's too much noise in the world anyway, and I'd still be able to read. However, this is a terrible question. Why would we ever have to choose???? The world is not Sophie's Choice. I hate hypothetical questions. Reality first, please.

Hearing. Losing sight would be too scary - I have a terrible sense of spatial relations, so I'd have a lot of trouble keeping a mental map of the world. And losing hands would mean being too dependent on other people.

I think I could make up for losing the use of my hands better than I could for losing either of these senses

NONE TO BE HONEST, BUT I WOULD HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE THE PEOPLE I LOVE

I'd rather lose my hands because you can always use your feet for things like that, and I can't live without music and I'd rather see the beautiful things in life.

i guess if i couldnt do anything else, i would want to be able to play piano. i could just sit in a room and play piano by myself and be ok, and nothing else makes me feel like that.

hard question but I think I'd choose hearing, because it would be torture not be able to read and I need my sight and hands for that (I'm always eating or doing hwk or whatnot while reading)

i would rather loose my smelling

Hearing first, then sight. Even if it meant losing music, at least I could replay some in my imagination...

All of these would suck big time. But I would probably choose hearing, even though I love music and singing, because it would affect my independence the least.

Hobson's choice...I'd be hopeless if blind or without hands...

technology could help me find ways around the loss of hands, but not the senses

One word: MUSIC.

There are more ways to make up for the loss of hands than for the other two. Good music and the reassuring smile of a friend are too precious for me to lose.

Wow. This one is incredibly hard to answer. Every single one would be immensely traumatic to me... by the narrowest of margins, I'd say 'hearing'.

For me, the least intrusive would be loss of hearing. It would be difficult but less so than the others.

I'd choose hearing, which of course would be a bad choice. my eyesight has been degenerating since I was a child (age 7 or so).

I had a completely blind coworker who could read his braillereader nearly as fast as I could read a screen (and much faster than the guy in Sneakers) ... still, hearing goes if i have a choice.

I'm a photographer by Trade but I still think I could do better without my sight than the others. Losing my hearing seem frightening to me.

I've been taking sign language classes lately, and it's interesting to me now. There's a whole Deaf culture that a lot of people don't know about. Deafness isn't a disability, it's just a life to live like any other.

oh geez, this sucks.

I love this survey, very tough but I had to go for hearing, just !!! Still, good thing is I wouldn't hear my girlfriends constant nagging

I am amused to notice that a survey directed to a bunch of screen-reading, keyboard-typing net-addicts, finds that it is hearing that most of us would choose to lose. Whaddasuprise ;}

hearing