Sensory impairment is the common term used to describe: Deafness, blindness, visual impairment, hearing impairment and Deafblindness.A Sensory impairment is when one of your senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste and spatial awareness, is no longer functioning normally. For example if you wear glasses you have a sight impairment, and/or if you find it hard to hear or have a hearing aid then you have a hearing impairment. A person does not have to have a full loss of a sense to be sensory impaired.



Sight LossVisual ImpairmentVisual impairment is the term used to describe a loss of sight that cannot be corrected using glasses or contact lenses.There are two main categories of visual impairment:Registered partially sighted, which means the level of sight impairment is moderateRegistered blind, which means a severe sight impairment where activities that rely on eyesight become impossibleA consultant ophthalmologist is responsible for registering an individual as either blind or partially sighted.


Hearing impairment, or deafness, is when your hearing is affected by a condition or injury. Some people are born with a hearing loss while others may develop it as they get older.If you have developed problems with your hearing you should go to see your GP. It may well be a minor problem that can be resolved at the surgery. If it is something more serious they will refer you to the audiology department at the hospital for a hearing test where you may be offered hearing aids.