When I first lost my hearing a large number of people attempted to make me feel better by saying "at least you didn't go blind". This was said by people who were neither deaf or blind. The following quote is by Helen Keller who is deaf and blind and therefore the only person (apart from other deaf/blind people of course) who is qualified to make such a statement:
"I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more
complex, if not more important than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse
misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus -- the sound of the
voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the
intellectual company of man". Helen Keller
