Lasik surgery,Ophthalmology houston
This is obviously not a predicament any of us would want to be placed in, but have you ever thought about what sense you’d rather keep if you had to make the choice?
Well according to a recent study conducted across the sea in the United Kingdom, it turns out that sight is the most highly valued sense which is then followed by hearing and balance.
There were 250 adult participants in this web-based survey in the UK (aged 22 to 80 years old).
Seeing as to how it was published on the JAMA Network (the Journal of the American Medical Association – which is peer reviewed), we were pretty impressed and wanted to inquire more about how this survey worked.
The study participants were asked to rank the 5 traditional senses which include: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell) along with 3 other (non traditional) senses including: balance, temperature, and pain. They were to rank all of the above in order of the most valuable to the least valuable.
Next, they investigated the fear of losing hearing and sight using a “time tradeoff exercise.”
Participants chose between 10 years without sight or hearing versus varying amounts of perfect health, ranging anywhere from zero to ten years.
The conclusions of this study show that people would on average choose to have over 4 years of perfect health as an alternative to having 10 years without sight.
Another interesting point retrieved from the results is that participants valued balance over the traditionally recognized senses like taste, smell and touch. Have you ever thought about whether you prefer your balance over your sense of taste…? That’s a tough one…
All in all, what we find interesting is that this study supports the very widely perceived notion that sight is the most valued sense among the general population. It stands true for the UK – what about us here in the USA?
So if your sight is extremely valuable to you, and more important than your sense of taste, have you thought about leaving your vision in the hands of someone who doesn’t have the most experience in the world?
Did you know our doctors were the first to perform LASIK in the United States? Did you know we were the first to perform Laser Cataract Surgery in the US (among many other ‘firsts’)? To read more about our experience with LASIK, click this link or click here to learn about the process. We encourage you to call us at 713-626-5544 to schedule a complimentary LASIK evaluation and learn more about what we can do to make sure you never have to lose your vision, and in most of your cases, your most valued sense!
