Making sense of the senses

As humans, we are considered to have 5 senses - sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell. Everyone in my family has of these senses. Yes, some of us have senses that are stronger than others. My father's sense of hearing is deteriorating with age. My vision, as that of my siblings, is less than perfect and we use corrective lenses. I have an uncle who cannot smell, but miraculously can taste - he thinks this is a HUGE bonus in life. Some of our family members have what would be considered a perfect set of senses - no need for aiding them in any way.

But what if we didn't? What if one of us completely and totally lost one sense? What if it was a sense that, typically, was considered vital? Essential for safety? Societally necessary? What if deafness came into our family?

I just finished watching an amazing documentary that I've been wanting to see for a very long time. Sound and Fury follows the journey of a family through one of the hardest decisions they have ever made - whether or not to surgically allow their deaf children to hear through the use of Cochlear Implants. The story of two brothers (one hearing and one deaf) and their families (some members being hearing and other members being deaf,) dealing with the emotional struggle of having deaf children and wondering if the implant would improve their lives or would it destroy their sense of culture? One brother is hearing with a hearing wife and three children, two of whom are hearing and one is deaf. The other brother is deaf, has a deaf wife, and three deaf children. Interestingly enough, the parents of the brothers are hearing and the parents of the hearing wife are deaf! Emotions expressed span hope to rage to grief to shame to fear to elation. It's a gut wrenchingly emotional struggle and it brought tears to my eyes.

Hearing has always been so essential to me. I always have sound around. I am always listening to music or making music of my own while going about my day. I can be in the deepest sleep imaginable but if one of my children so much as sniffle in the night, I'm up and investigating. I depend on my sense of hearing to aid in my safety. I know when someone is behind me because I'm always listening to the branch snap, the pebble slide, the footsteps. I can tell when the water is ready for the pasta just by sound. I teach my children to appreciate and identify sound. Is that a cello or a violin? Is that a flute or a clarinet? Is that a dog or a wolf? Is that a "hey, nice to see you" honk on street or a "get the heck out of the way" honk (easily told by the length of the honk!) Is that a firetruck or an ambulance? Do you hear a train in the distance? Get off the track.

But if that option were gone, what would I do? Would I surgically alter them? Would I see it as giving them the best options and hope for life? Or, would I just dive deep into an unknown (to me) culture and expose them to everything that being deaf has to offer? Hard to tell. I just don't know. I can say what I think I would do, but it holds no weight. Until facing the issue, no one can say.

I have no real closure for this post. My brain is spinning. Today, I will thank my ears for working. Today I will listen to all the messages they send me. Today I will imagine what it would be like to not hear. Maybe some day, it will make sense.