Hearing is less important from a standpoint of being able to function independently in the world.

I'll keep my sight. Without hearing I'd be able to sleep in really noisy places. Would open up new opportunities to be at ease in otherwise unbearably noisy places. Restaurants would be serene.

How long would I live without listening to music? Without reading? I suspect I'd live longer without music (& noise) than without books. Better deaf and sighted than blind ...

It's almost impossible.

I've always thought that music points to the most profound experiences we can have as intelligent creatures of some kind.

On the other hand, not being to see, to read, to take in. That's a high price to pay.

Maybe deaf. Maybe. It would still suck as hell....

Funnily enough, I have discussed which of these would be worse to lose with lots of people and found that many would much prefer to lose their sight, because that would mean that they were excluded from conversation. Personally, I would much prefer to lose sight than hearing, because I would not be able to read, write or do art. Also, it would be hard to live independently, doing basic things like getting dressed, going to the shops and doing all the mundane tasks that are involved in daily listening. I would miss talking, of course, and life without music would be terrible, but I probably would survive with the memories of my favourite music.

I think Nils is right that sight is more functionally important. And I would definitely miss reading, but I don't think I could live without music. Also, if you lose hearing, you essentially also lose speech, whereas if you keep hearing, your ability to maintain a conversation is unimpaired. I would sacrifice my sight for my hearing I think....

When I started thinking about this, I thought, would I rather watch a silent movie, or listen to music?

I've always thought that music points to the most profound experiences we can have as intelligent creatures of some kind. — Manuel

Me too.

Of course, if we did go blind or deaf we would have the options of learning braille and sign language, but I have seen them being used and, don't think it would be easy to learn them. I once attended a training course in which I was the only trainee in the room who was not deaf. There was an interpreter in the room translating what the course leaders and I said, and I think that I used a few words which the interpreters didn't know how to put into sign language. I also think that being proficient in braille to the point of being able to read philosophy books would be very hard indeed.

I wonder if people born deaf can hear in their dreams?