Sensory Impairments and Challenges in Ageing

This chapter describes how sensory impairment is often regarded from a medical/disability point of view and its effects on mental health can be poorly recognized. Communication is a key issue for deaf and deaf-blind people and difficulties here underlie developmental, psychological and emotional problems and delay or prevent appropriate assessment and treatment. Sensory related issues are seen as medical problems and as disabilities. 95% of the information about the world around us comes from our sight and hearing. However, the main concerns of visual and hearing affected by the total or partial absence of sight and/or hearing are usually how to live, how to learn and how to communicate. Their difficulties are often as much to do with society's attitudes towards them as with the direct effect of sensory impairment.