Health and social services seem to find people difficult to identify

Malcolm Matthews, Sense

According to the charity, the problem can sometimes lie with elderly people themselves.

Many are actually unaware of the problem because their eyesight and hearing deteriorates slowly as they grow older.

But the charity also believes that health staff and people working in nursing homes could do more to pick up the problem by looking out for tell-tale signs of increasing blindness and deafness.

Worrying

Malcolm Matthews, acting chief executive of Sense, said the failure to identify the condition was worrying.

"The combinations of sight and hearing loss can completely isolate elderly people.

"Older people often end up simply left on their own."

He added: "There is a worrying undercounting of this group and health and social services seem to find people difficult to identify," he said.

Mr Matthews added that many elderly people are ending up in nursing homes because doctors are failing to diagnose them as deafblind.

"We are certain that thousands of elderly people are suffering by themselves or ending up in costly care homes when all that is needed is fast, correct identification of their disability plus extra help and support to allow them to stay in their own homes."

Deafblindness has many different causes, including premature birth, rubella during pregnancy and problems during the delivery of the baby.

It can also be triggered by some genetic conditions, meningitis, accidents or old age.