The title of this blog is actually a little play on words, because it is literally about the myth (or perhaps, reality) surrounding the idea that if one sense is missing, others will be enhanced. There are a lot of differing opinions and studies that attempt to address this issue. Rather than attempt to cover them all in a quick blog blurb, here are a few things to consider as a broad summary. As expected, when one sense is gone the other senses are used more by default. For example, deaf people are more likely to have the habit of being more aware of their surroundings due to the lack of hearing cues. On more than one occasion you may have experienced frustration at traffic slowing down for no reason only to realize that blasting sirens were drowned out by your radio on the road.
On the other hand, since deaf people tend to be more sensitive to light, the visual alarms of emergency vehicles may come to their attention more quickly. If you have an afternoon free and feel like some scientific research, just “Google It” and you will see that several people have chimed in on this idea. As with any such speculation, we may never know the real answer. The important thing to remember is that each individual in this world, whether deaf or hearing, has their own perceptions and experiences. Why not improve yours by tackling that next set of signs on ASLdeafined?