Taking care of your senses

RESIDENTS in Coleraine are being urged to have their hearing and eyesight checked during Deafblind Awareness Week as experts predict the number of people who begin to lose these vital senses is set to soar by 2030.

The reality is that life expectancy in the UK is rising each year and so are the number of people who suffer from hearing and sight loss. From the age of 40 onwards, eye sight deterioration and hearing loss can happen naturally.

It is also estimated that by 2030 the number of people who are deaf and/or blind is expected to reach 569,000 – an increase of more than 200,000 in just 20 years.

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Judith Ball, Specsavers Coleraine store director, says: “There is no reason that our quality of life should suffer as we age anymore. We’ve never been in a better position to monitor and treat eye and ear health.”

At Specsavers, digital retinal photography is also offered as part of the standard test and at no additional cost for customers aged over 40, or where a GP or optician recommends it.

One in six people nationwide suffer from hearing loss, with age related loss being the most common, and this figure is set to rise. A hearing test not only assesses hearing, but it can also detect tinnitus, a ringing in the ears, as well as ear wax build-ups, known as cerumen blockages.