{"id":30185,"date":"2024-12-20T10:29:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T10:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/?page_id=30185"},"modified":"2026-06-12T14:31:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:31:32","slug":"causes-of-deafblindness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/multi-sensory-impairment\/causes-of-deafblindness\/","title":{"rendered":"Causes of Deafblindness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Deafblindness can result from a variety of congenital (present at birth) and acquired (developed later in life) causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Understanding these causes can help in early diagnosis and support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following explains some of the main causes of Deafblindness.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"accordion-tabs-block\"><ul class=\"accordion\" id=\"block_acf-block-6a2c0a32afc3d\" data-responsive-accordion-tabs=\"accordion medium-accordion large-accordion\" data-allow-all-closed=\"true\" data-multi-expand=\"true\"><li id=\"item-6a2c0a32afc3d-0\" class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-title\"><span>Complications of prematurity<\/span><\/a><div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content><p>Premature birth (before 37 weeks) can lead to underdeveloped organs, including the eyes and ears, resulting in sensory impairments. There is increased risk of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and hearing loss due to underdeveloped auditory and visual systems.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li id=\"item-6a2c0a32afc3d-1\" class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-title\"><span>CHARGE syndrome<\/span><\/a><div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content><p>This is a complex genetic condition referring to a set of specific physical and sensory features. The name is an acronym of what was considered to be common features of the condition, including: Coloboma of the eye; Heart defects; Atresia choanae; Restricted growth; Genital abnormalities; Ear abnormalities and deafness. The main criteria for CHARGE syndrome is considered by many to be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Coloboma<\/li>\n<li>Choanal atresia<\/li>\n<li>Ear abnormalities<\/li>\n<li>Cranial nerve dysfunction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The main input senses of vision and hearing,\u00a0 as well as the vestibular and proprioceptive senses are usually impacted on for children with CHARGE syndrome. You can find out more about CHARGE syndrome on SENSE&#8217;s website here:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/charge-syndrome\/what-is-charge-syndrome\/\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/charge-syndrome\/what-is-charge-syndrome\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li id=\"item-6a2c0a32afc3d-2\" class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-title\"><span>Usher syndrome<\/span><\/a><div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content><p>This is a genetic condition that affects hearing, vision, and balance. It can result in progressive hearing loss and retinitis pigmentosa, leading to night blindness and loss of peripheral vision. You can find out more about Usher syndrome on SENSE&#8217;s website here:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/usher-syndrome\/\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/information-and-advice\/conditions\/usher-syndrome\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li id=\"item-6a2c0a32afc3d-3\" class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-title\"><span>Infections<\/span><\/a><div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content><p>Infections such as rubella (German measles), toxoplasmosis, and cytomegalovirus (CMV) can be transmitted from mother to foetus. These infections can cause congenital hearing loss and vision problems, including cataracts and retinal damage.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li id=\"item-6a2c0a32afc3d-4\" class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-title\"><span>Down syndrome<\/span><\/a><div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content><p>Down syndrome is a naturally occurring genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome. There is an increased risk of hearing and vision problems, including congenital cataracts and conductive hearing loss.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li id=\"item-6a2c0a32afc3d-5\" class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-title\"><span>Cerebral Palsy<\/span><\/a><div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content><p>This is a group of disorders affecting movement and muscle tone, often caused by damage to the developing brain. It can include sensory impairments such as hearing and vision loss due to neurological damage.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><li id=\"item-6a2c0a32afc3d-6\" class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"accordion-title\"><span>Brain injuries<\/span><\/a><div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content><p>This can be caused by damage from meningitis, encephalitis, stroke, or severe head injury. It can result in sensory impairments, including hearing and vision loss.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deafblindness can result from a variety of congenital (present at birth) and acquired (developed later in life) causes. Understanding these causes can help in early [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":0,"parent":8151,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-30185","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-10 12:05:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30185"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36604,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30185\/revisions\/36604"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}