Still waiting for my Superman hearing －スーパーマンのようなヒアリングをまだ待っている－

“How are you getting along since your blindness?  I suppose your other senses have gotten better to compensate.”  “William, can I ask you a question?  Has your hearing really improved since you lost your eyesight?”

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard people say the above, or something similar.

I always want to reply by saying, “Yes, now that you mention it, my hearing is much better – oh, hold on!”  I would cock my head to one side, listening intently to something in the distance.  “There’s a boy trapped in an abandoned mine in Western Australia!  We’d better call the police.”

Or I could say, “Yes, my other senses are much improved.  My sense of smell is really coming along.  I’ve just gotten a new job at the airport, finding drugs hidden in suitcases.”  I would then turn towards them and start sniffing.  “Is that a new body scrub you’ve been using?”

I don’t know where the idea that a blind person’s other senses will get better comes from, but it seems to be a very popular myth.  I was given an audio book as a free gift at Christmas by Audible, a website I use to download books.  The story featured a blind detective, who solved crimes without being able to rely on his eyes.  In the story he was given a coin which he was able to identify as a valuable Roman antique simply by running his finger over it.  In reality, I sometimes have difficulty feeling the difference between a 10 yen coin and a 100 yen coin, if the 100 yen coin is old and worn.

And why is this logic only ever applied to blind people?  If someone had to have both their legs cut off after a terrible accident, would the doctor say to them, “Don’t worry.  Your other limbs will get stronger to compensate.”

And should the newly legless patient then say, Oh!  I suppose you’re right!  I can just pull myself around the floor using only my arms.  For a moment there I was feeling a little down.  Thanks, Doctor!”

I’m going to leave now.  But be careful what you say about me.  Any day now my Superman hearing will develop and I’ll be able to catch any criticism from miles away. 

Vocabulary:

to compensate – to reduce or negate some negative effect by providing a substitute effect

to cock one’s head –  to move one’s head to the side, pointing the ears towards a speaker or sound, so that one can hear better

a mine – a tunnel or series of tunnels dug into the ground in order to take out valuable minerals such as gold

a myth – a widely held but false belief or idea

a detective – someone who tries to solve crimes

to be worn – to be overused and in a bad condition

a limb – an arm or a leg