As an autistic person with serious auditory sensitivities, I can see the draw of being able to shut down my sense of hearing voluntarily. If I lost it (I may as I age; there’s some family history) I think I’d just prefer to bank against that possibility by learning ASL now, which—bonus! -- gives me some linguistic access to interacting with people I’d find difficult to talk to before, rather than get a cochlear implant or a hearing aid.
As an autistic person with serious auditory sensitivities, I can see the draw of being able to shut down my sense of hearing voluntarily. If I lost it (I may as I age; there’s some family history) I think I’d just prefer to bank against that possibility by learning ASL now, which—bonus! -- gives me some linguistic access to interacting with people I’d find difficult to talk to before, rather than get a cochlear implant or a hearing aid.