Sense is a national charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind. Sense marked Deafblind Awareness Week last month (17th-23rd June) with events and activities held nationwide carrying the theme 'belonging and participating'. For more information visit www.sense.org

 

Deafblindness is a term that describes a number of conditions involving both vision and hearing problems. It is sometimes called dual-sensory impairment.

 

There are two main types of deafblindness:

1. Congenital - where somebody is born with both visual and hearing problems:

· Rubella 

· Premature Birth

· Genetic conditions

 

2. Acquired - where somebody loses some or all of their hearing and sight at some stage in their life:

· Usher syndrome

· Other causes (e.g. as a result of two unrelated conditions that cause loss of vision and loss of hearing, or it can occur as a result of ageing).

 

There are more than 100 causes of congenital and acquired deafblindness.

 

For further information about Deafblindness visit nhsinform: http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/health-library/articles/d/deafblindness/causes.aspx