IMO the question should not be whether the ability to read music is useful or not. It is. But there are other aspects of musicianship that are much more useful. So for me it's a matter of priority. If, like me, your goal is to play jazz or bluegass then developing excellent reading skill is not anywhere near as usefu as developing one's ear and ear-to- instrument connection.
We learned to talk before we learned to read.
but you did learn both, and are all the more expressive and communicative for it.
-- We make a living from what we get, but we make a life from what we give. - Kathy Moser