What additional injury does Oedipus wish he had inflicted upon himself?

Oedipus expresses a deep sense of despair and self-loathing after uncovering the truth about his actions and the fulfillment of the prophecy. His wish to be deaf stems from the unbearable nature of the truth he has learned: that he killed his father and married his mother. By wishing for deafness, he implies that he cannot bear to hear the news of his own guilt or the suffering of others resulting from his actions. This desire reflects his overwhelming need to escape the reality he now faces; he believes that being deaf would spare him from the pain associated with his actions and the continued acknowledgment of his tragic fate.

The desire to be mute or to have lost his memory would carry different connotations concerning communication and knowledge, while blindness is more directly related to his self-inflicted punishment after realizing his tragic deeds. Oedipus's specific wish to be deaf highlights the depth of his anguish and the wishful thinking that perhaps silencing the world around him could mitigate the pain of his knowledge.