Losing one of the five senses

[Dodie16]

Yeah, I know there's more than 5, but for the sake of simplicity, let's just talk about the "traditional" ones: hearing, sight, taste, smell, and touch.

When I was younger, I would sometimes have a discussion with my friends or my brothers about if you had to live without one of your basic senses, which one they choose to give up and what they thought life would be like without it. More often than not, either the sense of smell or taste was chosen, since those two seemed to be the easiest to adjust to living if they were to suddenly disappear.

So I thought it would be interesting to see what other TFF members would choose to live without if they had to give one up, and what kind of impact it would have on your everyday life.

Also, to help open this topic up for further discussion (since I assume many would also pick to just lose their sense of smell or taste), do you know or have you been around anyone that lost one or more of their senses?

I don't know anyone personally that is living without one (or more) of their five senses, but I recall quite a few times when I served customers that couldn't hear, and also a customer that couldn't see. The customers that were deaf, it was just a matter of writing things down to ask what they needed, or speaking to where they could read my lips to what I was saying a little easier, and then going about my usual manner. The blind customer had a friend/family member with him to help with anything he needed assistance with, so I didn't really do anything much different.

And if I had to pick a sense to live without? Probably smell. Yeah, that will effect my sense of taste as well, but like stated earlier, I think it would be easier to adjust to not having those than the others.

[sayian]

yea.. id have to agree... smell, i guess would be the luxury of the five so id pick that too it would suck to live without because u dont wanna put something in your mouth with out knowing what it smells like ......man dont we have an awesome and considerate God

[Rocky]

wow this thread and the timing I got some news is quite uncanny actually. One of my childhood friends that I hung out with (our families were good friends and stuff), he is a football player for a local college. Anyways, he's always had back problems since he was younger but playing football obviously didn't help so he went into surgery about a month ago. Apparently the surgeons who operated on him ended up nicking a wrong nerve, and now he is permanently blind, and after being seen by many different doctors, it sounds like the condition is irreversible. I'm going to his wellness benefit tomorrow with my family.


All sad stories aside, I'd hate to lose my sense of vision, or any other of my senses for that matter. If anything I could do without my sense of smell since it's terrible anyways.

[fierytempest]

I'd actually say taste, I think. Then I'd stop eating food that's bad for me just because it tastes good.

Or maybe smell.

Not sight, hearing, or touch, though.

[Dodie16]

One of my childhood friends that I hung out with (our families were good friends and stuff), he is a football player for a local college. Anyways, he's always had back problems since he was younger but playing football obviously didn't help so he went into surgery about a month ago. Apparently the surgeons who operated on him ended up nicking a wrong nerve, and now he is permanently blind, and after being seen by many different doctors, it sounds like the condition is irreversible. I'm going to his wellness benefit tomorrow with my family.

Oh wow... I'm sorry that happened to your friend... I hope the benefit raises good money for him, and also lifts his spirits. I can imagine that something like that would be quite devastating to have happen so suddenly to a person.

[SuperSabin]

i'd live without touch. wouldn't that result in feeling no pain right? if so thats the one i'd go for.

The reason why is so I won't have to undergo that feeling you get when you get hurt, not that much to the reasoning.

[Taco-Calamitous]

Taste is probably the least dangerous one to lose. You need sight to see the dangers around you, or see cool stuff. You need your hearing in case of something bad happening nearby that you can't see, something sneaking up on you, and just to be able to hear music. You need feeling for balance and knowing where to put your feet down, or if you're cutting/burning/whatever yourself (just because you can't feel it doesn't mean it's not effecting you.) Smell can help you to tell if there's a fire nearby, or some other hazard that has a scent. You can also often tell if something is bad to put in your mouth by smell (rotten foods, etc.)

So yeah, I'd go with taste. It'd really suck to not be able to taste anything ever again-eating food would be very boring-but that's about the only setback that I could think of. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Crazy Chocobo]

I remember having this discussion in school years ago and I had no idea which one I would go without, I still have no idea lol. I wouldn't want to go without hearing because I want to hear music, people talking to me and etc. Taste is too valuable, I like being able to enjoy my food and it would suck if you couldn't taste it. Seeing is very valuable as well..

Umm, I'd either go with scent or touch. Let's just say not having scent, it would be hard to deal with but the others are more important. =\

[fierytempest]

For me, I could never go without feeling touch, because then you'd lose pleasurable feelings as well.

You know, hugs. Kissing. Sex.

Meh, I wouldn't give up touch.

[Pete]

Hmm, hearing would suck. I love listening to music and it's pretty useful.

Sight would also be terrible, seeing as I play sports and kiiind of rely on it for hitting and catching.

Touch would also be horrible. You'd never really experience pain, or pleasure for that matter.

Taste and smell are largely linked. I love food, but I don't think it would entirely taste the same without the sense of smell. Then again, even without being able to smell, like when I've had colds, food has been pretty close to what it should taste like.

That being said, I think if I absolutely had to, I'd go without the sense of smell. It'd suck not to be able to smell good smelling things, like my girls perfume, or steak... but at the same time, I wouldn't have to smell nasty things... like poop.

[OceanEyes28]

I'd say taste. I do love to eat, but if my sense of smell was gone, it wouldn't be as good anyway, and with my sense of taste gone (as stated earlier), there's no reason to eat nutritionally worthless food because I can't taste it anyway. But! If I'm eating something I can't taste, but I can smell it... that's like almost as good. I could live with that.

Eating is great, but intimacy is way better imo. Touch, smell, sight, sound... goddamn. Keeping that shit. And olfactic memories just go straight to my heart.

Plus, I'm a performing artist, and taste is the least necessary (in my mind) for me to do what I want to do.

[Pete]

Hmmm I think if we didn't have a sense of taste, the obesity epidemic would be over. Anyone?

[kupo]

i have a friend who can barely smell anything; therefore his sense of taste isn't as strong as it should be.
for me, it would be smell. i thought about taste for a bit but i couldn't do it because i love food waaaayyyy too much. with smell, yeah i'd miss all the nice smelling things in the world; but not having to smell anything rancid ever again is kinda nice.

[Meier Link]

Hmm, hearing would suck. I love listening to music and it's pretty useful.

Oddly enough I was going to make comment on this. I have a few friends that are hearing impaired (some completely deaf and some partial deaf) and oddly enough they (even the ones that are 100% hearing impaired) still highly enjoy "listening" to music and dancing, one of which is actually an exceptional dancer and could out dance most people that can hear. He even can depict words while "listening" to music solely by feel of the vibrations of the music. Truly amazing to witness.

Seeing, most of the time, with the loss of one of the major senses the others will compensate for the loss of one making the functional ones stronger. This is something else to remember while making a selection on if you had to loose one.

For instance, say you enjoy smelling good fragrances, in a heightened state things that are enjoyable now, such as a woman's perfume, could possibly become very unbearable and unpleasant. Sensory over load could quite possibly be something that would happen, specially during the initial on set of the heightened senses.

As for me, I think the loss of hearing would be the easiest for me to transition to. Due to the fact that I do have hearing impaired friends I already know the basic signs and also some advanced American sign. Also with 28 years of being able to hear, I would still retain the ability to speak somewhat clearly with out having to hear myself do so and be comfortable while doing so.

[winterborn86]

I would give up smell, might make dirty nappies easier to cope with lol.
I would be deverstated if I ever lost my sight or hearing.