Guests and contributors to deafblind awareness day 2016Deafblindness is a low-incidence disability. However, it is becoming more common as a result of the ageing population and the increased number of children surviving prematurity.

In Ireland, 1,749 people were recorded on the National Census 2011 as having a combination of blindness or serious vision impairment and deafness or a serious hearing impairment. A further 10,365 reported experiencing a combination of vision and hearing loss with one other disability or more.  According to the European Deafblind Network, this underestimates the number of people affected by the disability. They argue that when people with less severe impairments of vision and hearing are included the figure is closer to 17,209 people in Ireland.

Details about the number of people who reported having a combination of serious vision and hearing loss in your area are available in the Report into deafblindness in Ireland.

Use this link to download the report in full.