Deafblindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss that affects a person’s ability to communicate, access information and get around. It is also sometimes called “dual sensory loss” or “multi-sensory impairment”. A deafblind person would not usually be totally deaf and totally blind, but both senses will be reduced enough to cause significant difficulties in everyday life.
These problems can occur even if hearing loss and vision loss are mild, as the senses work together and one would usually help compensate for loss of the other.
Key Facts
- Being deafblind is recognized as a unique disability in its own right. It does not necessarily mean that you are totally deaf or totally blind – most individuals who are deafblind have some residual sight and/or hearing.
- It is not about the amount of sight and hearing you have; it is about the combined impact of having more than one sensory impairment.
- Everybody with a combined sight and hearing impairment connects, communicates, and experiences the world differently.
- Dual-sensory impairment or multi-sensory impairment are other terms that may be used if you have both sight and hearing impairments.
- A person with sensory processing issues may have eyes and ears that function normally, but their brain has trouble filtering, organizing, and interpreting information taken in by the senses.
- There are approximately over 1,090,000 people who are deafblind, with this figure set to increase by1 over 600,000 by 2035.
- Deafblindness most commonly affects older adults, although it can affect people of all ages, including babies and young children.
Symptoms
- Needing to turn up the volume on the television or radio
- Difficulty following a conversation
- Not hearing noises such as a knock at the door
- Asking others to speak loudly, slowly, and more clearly
- Needing to hold books or newspapers very close, or sitting close to the television
- Difficulty moving around unfamiliar places
- Not hearing people if they speak to you from behind
- leaning in very close to hear what’s being said
Diagnosis
In most cases, deafblindness develops as a person gets older. It can happen gradually, so you may not notice that your vision and/or hearing are getting worse at first. It is therefore important to have routine eye tests to check for any problems. Adults should normally have their eyes tested every 2 years.
You can request a hearing test at your hospital at any point if you think you may be losing your hearing. A person may be diagnosed with deafblindness if tests show they have both hearing and vision problems.
Their hearing and vision should continue to be regularly assessed even after they have been diagnosed, as the level of care and support they need will depend on how severely each sense is affected.
Causes
- Age-related hearing loss
- Genetic conditions, such as Usher syndrome
- An infection of a baby in the womb, such as rubella (German measles)
- Cerebral palsy – a problem with the brain and nervous system that mainly affects movement and co-ordination
- Eye problems associated with advancing in age, such as cataracts
Prevention
Preventing ear damage and infection
It is important to protect your ears because any damage could affect your hearing. Also, try to keep your ears clean and dry as this can help prevent some types of ear infections.
Avoid damaging your ears
- Do not insert cotton wool buds or other objects into your ears. Wax works its way out naturally, and cotton buds should only be used to sweep around your outer ear (pinna).
- If you find that ear wax build-up is a problem, you should have it removed by a healthcare professional.
- Prolonged exposure to loud noise damages your hearing, so try to avoid high noise levels and wear proprietary ear-defenders/ear plugs when this is not possible.
Keep your ears dry and clean
- Do not let water, soap, or shampoo get inside your ear when you wash. Also, while bathing and showering, wear a shower cap in order to avoid water, or soap, entering your ears.
- After washing, use a hairdryer, on a low setting, to dry your ears. Never push the corners of a towel into your ears to dry them because this can cause damage.
- If you swim regularly, wear a swimming hat that covers your ears or use ear plugs.
Vision aids
For some deafblind people, it may be possible to improve vision using low vision aids, such as glasses, magnifying lenses, and task lights. Specially designed items, such as telephones and keyboards, may also help someone who is visually impaired.
Hearing aids and implants
Some deafblind people may benefit from wearing a hearing aid. There are various hearing aid styles available to suit different types of hearing loss and personal preferences.
Hearing aids use microphones to collect the sound from the environment, amplify it and deliver it into the ear canal of the wearer so that it can be processed by the auditory system. An audiologist (hearing specialist) will be able to recommend the most suitable type of aid after testing your hearing.
It may seem that deaf-blindness refers to a total inability to see or hear. However, in reality, deaf-blindness is a condition in which the combination of hearing and visual losses in children and youth causes “such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness or multiple disabilities. Children who are called deaf-blind are singled out educationally because impairments of sight and hearing require thoughtful and unique educational approaches in order to ensure that children with this disability have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
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