I suggest, use no sound at all. most of the time, My speakers dont work, and I play with no hint whatsoever of sound.
talking about your problem, there are some headphones available in the market, that compensate for problems such as yours. look up Amazon, I think they sell those.
and yeah, the 7.1 Surround Idea is good, but I wont recommend it unless you want a fried processor. I will recommend a quad core processor at a minimum for that.
and no, I dont feel much need for sound in any form of Gaming. I am a bit allergic to loud sounds, so, according to me, it doesnt make much difference, save improving the ambience and adding to the fun by, say, 3%.