Of course we understand the loss--losing other parts of our functionality is a shock, surgical removal of an organ or a limb, but our eyes, ears, and voice, those are our interface with the world. Losing any one of those makes the other two work harder and means things will never be exactly the same again.

Kendall, your friends and loved ones are urging you to choose life. Make the choice that to you and your doctors gives you the best chance for a long and curmudgeonly life. And if you have a few options to choose between with the same relative outcome, then you're fortunate and can choose to give yourself the most latitude. As a friend told me when I was making a similar choice regarding cancer surgery, "don't choose based on recuperation from the surgery, choose based on recovering from the cancer."

Good luck!