Unfortunately, not everybody gets to keep all five senses throughout their lifetimes.
Some people will lose their sight, some their taste, some feeling in their fingers and toes. Still yet, some will lose their hearing. And after a lifetime of knowing what that is like, losing it can be devastating.
u/_jaysco_ asked:
Deaf people of reddit who used to be able to hear, what sounds do you miss the most?
Here were some of those answers.
Just People
Giphy
I'm losing my hearing slowly - right now I just miss when I didn't have to ask people to repeat themselves so often. And I'm sad that a lot of times if I can't make out what was said the third time I just give up and nod like I did.
Tweeting
Birds.
My cat meowing to be let in.
The kettle going off when its boiled.
Most music.
Being able to go to the movies.
One-Two Step
I'm deaf in my right ear though. I miss not having to do a weird twostep and dance around somebody to make sure I'm on the side I can hear them, and then explain to people who don't know why I want that side facing them. Or walking with my head turned so I can hear them whilst trying not to walk into anything. Worse when people try to whisper in my ear and I have to turn my head at close proximity and risk rubbing noses with them.
A Second Chance
I had hearing, then gradually lost it, and it was restored by a cochlear implant. So I got a second chance!
What I really missed was "normal" conversation. Being able to talk with someone without asking a zillion times what they said, or struggling to hear every other word and then put the parts together. Family dinners were really hard. I could hear the person across from me, but everything else was a blur. People would laugh and I wouldn't get the joke.
That's all changed!
Some of the more fun things I've rediscovered: my Maine Coon cats purring - very loud and quite often. The quiet rumble of distant thunder. My fridge has an alarm when the door is left open.
Grateful? Hell yeah.
Give And Take
I miss being able to hear my daughter's laugh.
I definitely don't miss the crying though.
Feeling Left Out
I went to watch Avengers End Game on the weekend, and I remember distinctly being able to hear less and less with every Marvel movie really. I genuinely heard about 10% of the entire movie dialogue. The cinema was laughing at scenes and I had no idea what happened. All the discussions everyone had after taught me more about the movie than what I had even watched. It was incredibly frustrating, about an hour in I just wanted to go home and cry from trying so hard to actively hear and not hearing anything at all, and it gets so emotionally draining like that most days, being with friends and not hearing anything or always having to ask to repeat and always just being behind and feeling stupid.
Don't ruin your hearing, it is an incredibly precious and fragile thing.
As We Go On
I'm slowly losing my hearing, I miss not having to hold the remote in my hand to turn up/down the volume while my SO is sleeping. When there's just talking I have to turn it up, then action scenes, music and background noise is too loud so I have to turn it back down. I turned the subtitles on a few months ago and it's changed my life!
I miss not having to say "I can't hear you, you need to yell at me". Like when I'm doing dishes, I can't hear someone who's standing next to me talking normally.
My miss the feeling of clear ears. Mine constantly feel like I need to pop them. Luckily I live on a mountain so once in a while when I'm going down the mountain one of my ears will give a good pop and feels better for a little while.
I miss not hearing my voice echoed in my head. If you don't know what I mean, put your fingers in your ears and talk.
It's all around sh*tty, but I've accepted my fate.
A Far-A-Way Talk
I can sorta still hear (Cochlear) but I lost my hearing back when I was 5...in 1986. I remember talking on the landline phones at the time and while I could clearly hear the person, they sounded far away. That's what I remember. I wonder if landline phones sound like that today still.
Lost My Balance
My mom has sudden neural sensory hearing loss in both ears. Luckily the cochlear implants worked. However, music does not sound the same at all. She loves live music and always played CDs at home. She is very sad about how music sounds. She can only listen to music she knows because her brain sort of fills in the gaps. But any new music just sounds weird to her. Losing her hearing changed her life. Coincidentally, since hearing loss is an inner ear problem, she doesn't drink anymore. She says it already feels like she's had a margarita, 24/7.
Back To The Birds
Giphy
Not deaf but hearing-impaired. I love walking in the woods, and greatly miss the sound of birds chirping. The woods used to sound full of life. Now I can't hear them at all for the most part, and just listen to one of those "Sounds of Nature" CD's of bird song at high volume.
Scientists are about to start testing a drug that has successfully regrown ear hair cells in mice, so I'm hopeful that 10 years from now that I'll be able to hear again.
Stealth killers.
"A polar bear will calmly stalk up to you and start eating you alive without roaring or charging."
"Like how you would just walk across the kitchen to pick up an apple and start eating while going about your day."
"No drama, no theatrics, just murder."- Malphos101.
Polar Bear Food GIF by BBC AmericaGiphyOne way to blow off a date.
"Female dragonflies fake their deaths and crash to the ground and play dead when stalked by an unwelcome lover."- SuvenPan.
Body and soul
"Put simplistically, male angler fish bite into and get absorbed by the female during mating."-tagibear.
They call them "killer whales" for a reason.
"Orcas are one of the very few apex predators of the ocean."
"They’ll actually hunt great white sharks, rip them open and eat their livers (and sometimes heart) as a sort of ocean delicacy."- TheRestForTheWicked.
"Killer whales will slap a seal into the air resulting in them dying from the fall just because."
"Not to get food or defense, but just because they’re bored."- FuzzyRoach642.
Killer Whale GIF by Nature on PBSGiphySomething to keep in mind before kissing...
"Lobsters pee out of their faces."- NotACyclopsHonest.
Something that weird looking can't be real.
"The Royal Society thought that a taxidermied platypus was a prank when they saw the first one."
"Apparently naturalists would frequently send each other frankenstein'd abominations for goofs."- bjanas.
Speedy emasculation
"Camels have specially evolved canine teeth for the express purpose of biting off balls of other male camels- OneNastyJaguar.
wildlife camel GIFGiphy"Let's get ready to rumble!"
"In Tasmanian Devil mating season, the male has to beat the female into submission."
If he fails, the female beats the male up."- bugboyjohnny.
A very brief time on this earth
"The honeybees you see in your yard are in the last 2 to 3 weeks of their lives."- Fit-Environment-8140.
Fascinating facts indeed.
Though, after learning some of these facts, best to behold these creatures within the safety of a zoo or aquarium.
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Getting away from screens
"Social media."
"I worked for an agency selling social media services to clients and I had to learn about it."
"The more I learned, the less I wanted to work with social media."
- GetDownAndBoogieNow.
Round and round we go...
"Roundabouts."
"Based on all the complaints, I assumed they were confusing and unnecessary."
"When my city put in a bunch, I realized that I no longer had to wait 3 minutes at all of the punishment lights."
"Love roundabouts now."
"Of course that didn't stop the older population of the city from trying to have them removed."
"One guy even ran for city council on the platform that he would immediately put the stoplights back in."
"Change is hard, I guess."- AlternatePersonMan.
episode 4 roundabout GIFGiphyMy feet have never been happier.
"I didn't think orthopedic shoes were for me, but I stand corrected." - user deleted
I'm worth more than this.
"Working Hard."
"More specifically, working hard in a corporate environment."
"I like to work hard for things that I own and maintain, my home, my family, my body, my hobbies."
"But I've worked for almost 20 years for big tech companies."
"I've started at entry level jobs and worked up to middle management."
"Support jobs."
"Sales jobs."
"I've made 6 figures."
"What I've noticed is that they want to pay you less and keep training and experience as a reward."
"That is to say, you are not working for a paycheck."
"You are working towards the next thing."
"But they convince everyone to work hard in an entry level position, working unpaid overtime and you might be rewarded with a higher job."
"Statistically, you will not be promoted."
"There are 30 people on your team who all have that same goal and you can't all be supervisor or manager."
"Now, I just work for my paycheck."
"If you would like me to work harder, you can pay me more."
"I'm not going to go above and beyond for 2 years just to get passed over again."- KevinAnniPadda.
Pay Me Bitch Better Have My Money GIFGiphyPumping up.
"Lifting weights doesn’t make you 'bulky' as a woman and is one of the best things you could do for yourself not only in terms of body composition but in terms of posture, activities of daily living, mobility, joint/bone health, etc."
"It changed my entire life."- clauseandpaws.
It's your decision and no one else's.
"Empathy for the choices people make when they are not able to fully control themselves ."
"I.E. addiction, mental health crisis/episodes."
"Having personal experience on both the receiving and giving ends really deepened my empathy and understanding that allows me to have a more nuanced and individualized approach to these kinds of things now."- theoriginalsmore.
If you take a closer look...
"That case where McDonald's had to pay a bunch of money to a woman who spilled hot coffee on herself." - user deleted
Don't knock it till you've tried it.
"Disc Golf."
"All the guys I grew up with that played were huge d-bags."
"Years later a neighbor dragged me out on a nice day and I’ve been playing ever since."
"10+ years."- moarturnips.
Getting the help you need.
"Getting therapy."
"My upbringing is within an asian household so when it comes to dealing with emotions, we tend to shove that into jar and move on."
"I used to think that receiving therapy is for the mentally ill, weak etc."
"I don't have 'problems' therefore I don't need therapy."
"But after recent events in 2021 with certain people I tried therapy and after a few sessions it just revealed some baggage I wasn't even aware of."
"Honestly I wish I started earlier when I was in my 20s."
"I would be more emotionally prepared, and would probably have had healthier relationships with women if I had dealt with the trauma growing up and from my first relationship that devastated me."- Jono-san.
Everything!
"Not sure I can think of anything I DIDN'T change my stance on after learning about it."- RandoKaruza.
It is amazing how your opinion might change on something after a little research.
Or, just by actually doing it.
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Reddit user, KingTonza asked:
"What would be your Main reason to go back in time?"
and long-story-short, we're all greedy curious saps who clearly could never be trusted with a timeline.
*stares in Ashton Kutcher face*
Pets
"I had a cat that died in 2018. He was the best little guy. I’d like to go back and sneak into my old apartment after past me left for work for the day and just hang out with him sometimes."
-BatmanandReuben
"Huh I like that. Wholesome and also side-steps the problem of running into past selves."
-nairbeg
"I never had cats but will do this with my dogs."
"I just lost my boy last year. Even though I still have my little girl, I still miss him so much. I will visit all the pets I've lost throughout the years."
-enigma1021
Jurassic Nope
Confused Jurassic Park GIF by VidiotsGiphy"I really want to see dinosaurs."
"I know, I know, odds are high it would end badly for me. I just really love dinosaurs."
-VinnieMcVince
"I'm sure they want to see you too."
-Caperdiaa
Lesbians?
"The Libyans chasing me in a mall parking lot at 2am with an RPG."
-JellyCream
"That's heavy."
-JustDeleteSystem32
"I'm sorry but I really really misread this and missed the movie reference because I thought you said lesbians"
-duuckyy
"Now THAT'S heavy"
-Strong_Comedian_3578
The Necessary Nerd Answer
"To stop the burning of the library of Alexandria"
-thetomahawkkid
"When I was an adolescent and reading porno mags, I can still remember reading one of the models saying that the burning of the library at Alexandria was the greatest crime in history."
"Quite an intellectual that model was."
-YoteViking
"This would make the year 2000 be the year 2500 technologically"
-Lo23co7mcpe
"So. Much. Lost. Learning."
- [Reddit]
Best. Party. Ever.
happy homer simpson GIFGiphy"Stephen Hawking’s time travel party."
-childeroland79
"The only appropriate reason to time travel."
-Riverrat423
"I wouldn't go. Or if I did I'd swear him to secrecy."
-rydan
"For all we know the place could of been packed with time travelers, and he took that info to the grave."
-DARTHDIAMO
Money
"Buy bitcoin when it first came out..."
-emvaz
"Kicking myself for not buying some back in 2016."
"I worked with a guy who had a sizable amount and I would make fun of him for it. I was stupid and knew pretty much nothing about investing back then."
"I had about $50k just chilling in my savings. I could be a pretty rich man right now, instead I'm broke and saddled with student loan debt. Fml."
-ParticularBiscotti66
"I wanted to buy some back in 2009 but had no idea how. Probably would have been scammed in the end anyways."
-Ferndawg69
"Imagine the guy who spent thousands of bitcoins on a pizza"
-Biz_Consultant305
Overlord
"With the knowledge I have now, travel 20 years in the past and avoid a lot of mistakes... and become overlord of the whole world obviously."
-Goodcopbadcop33
"I don't know. That seems like a lot of responsibility."
"Can I be overlord of like 50 acres in the woods and a dope cabin?"
-wrecktus_abdominus
"Overlord is good. Me? I prefer All-Being, Master of Time & Space!"
-DavidSkywalkerPugh
"Most mistakes are healthy and are what shape us. I wouldn't have fixed any mistakes if I got a million dollars for it."
-WonderfulAirport4226
Curiosity Killed The Redditor
"Honestly just to see how everyday life was in like the 1400's for the average person. Feel like that's not something we know a lot about, or maybe just I don't know about."
-ThebigGreenWeenie16
"This seems like a bit of a foolish wish."
"I want it too."
"I'd want to bring along a bottle of antibiotics and a bar of deodorant soap, though."
-Bekiala
"It was probably crap. Working long hours of hard labour is pretty much your only option. Unless you are born into aristocracy and live on an estate."
"So like ... you'd probably already be dead, depending on how old you are."
-AxeellYoung
"This is a great choice, but I'm afraid that the diseases that you carry will be destructive for the people in the 1400s"
-bountyhunter205
"Wait, what if a time traveling Redditor was the real source of the plague?"
- [Reddit]
History's Mysteries
"To witness firsthand important events from the past and see how accurate our history books are"
-EezyRawlins
"Let me know who actually killed JFK."
-BigTuna0890
"I wonder if we were there as eyewitnesses maybe it would just seem like chaos . . . hmmm . . . what event would you like to witness."
-Bekiala
"Too many to list, honestly, but definitely the battles of Alesia, Cannae, and the siege of Orleans, as well as the sermon on the mount, and the (start of the) Hijrah."
-EezyRawlins
The Paradox
back to the future great scott GIFGiphy"I want to go back in time to prevent myself from going back in time"
-darth_shinji_ikari
"This is the true time travel paradox"
-bountyhunter205
"Are you implying that you have already travelled back in time?"
-Realistic_Analyst_26
So yeah ... maybe let's just not.
I have a sneaking suspicion we'd get ourselves in a lot of trouble and end up jumping way more than sharks.
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