Category: Deafblindness

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A person sitting outside with nature around them

PHARC - a rare syndrome

PHARC is a very rare syndrome caused by a mutation in the ABHD12 gene. PHARC involves combined visual and hearing impairment/deafblindness, polyneuropathy and cellular ataxia. Read more about what PHARC is, prevalence, treatment and support.

Deafblindness, Nordic definition revised

The Nordic definition of deafblindness was adopted at the Nordic Leadership Forum in June 2024. You can read about the definition here.

Images of three people at the top with the text Nothing seen, nothing heard and an icon of a video camera

A portrait series about everyday life with visual and hearing impairment

In this series, you'll meet people with combined visual and hearing impairment. They share their everyday lives and what it's like to live with visual and hearing impairment. The aim of the series is to increase knowledge about living with combined visual and hearing impairment/deafblindness, and to show the diversity this group represents.

Two people are standing outdoors facing each other. One has his back turned, grey hair, t-shirt, hearing aid and filter glasses. The other person has blonde hair to the shoulders, is standing with a roger pen around his neck and is wearing a dress. Round appears green in nature.

Deafblindness

Deafblindness is a term used to describe a combined visual and hearing impairment where the sensory losses mutually reinforce each other. Deafblindness is considered a separate disability. Deafblindness refers to a person who has such a high degree of combined visual and hearing impairment that it causes significant difficulties in daily life.

One person uses haptic signals. One person places a flat hand with a thumb on another person's shoulder, while guiding that person's other hand towards the horizon. They are standing outside on a ballcourt.

Usher syndrome, types and inheritance

Usher syndrome is a rare inherited genetic disorder that leads to combined visual and hearing impairment/deafblindness. Usher syndrome is the most common single cause of deafblindness in people under the age of 65. 50% of all deafblind people under the age of 65 have Usher syndrome. Usher syndrome is not linked to other neurological conditions, only visual and hearing impairment.

Usher syndrome and unreported cases in Norway

Usher syndrome is the most common syndrome leading to deafblindness, and 50% of all deafblind people under the age of 65 have Usher syndrome (Castiglione & Möller, 2022, p. 42). The diagnosis of Usher syndrome can be made on the basis of clinical findings or a genetic test. 

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