Sensory Impairment

This topic area covers statistics and information relating to sensory impairment in Hull including local strategic need and service provision.

This page contains information from the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips. Information is taken ‘live’ from the site so uses the latest available data from Fingertips and displays it on this page. As a result, some comments on this page may relate to an earlier period of time until this page is next updated (see review dates at the end of this page).

Headlines

• Vision is our most dominant sense, and plays a critical role in every facet and stage of our lives. Sight and hearing deteriorates with age, and prevention helps people maintain independent living and reduces the need for social care support.
• In 2022/23, the rate of new sight loss certifications was 19% higher in Hull compared to England (49.8 versus 42.0 per 100,000 population). Sight loss certifications were also higher in Hull which were due to age-related macular degeneration among people aged 65+ years (34% higher). Sight loss certifications were also marginally higher in Hull for those due to glaucoma among people aged 40+ years (2% higher) and for diabetic eye disease among people aged 12+ years (7% higher).
• In Hull during 2022/23, there were 59 sight loss certifications due to age-related macular degeneration among people aged 65+ years, 17 due to glaucoma among people aged 40+ years, and 7 due to diabetic eye disease among people aged 12+ years with a total of 134 new sight loss certifications in total.
• There has been some year-on-year variability in the rate of new sight loss certifications in Hull due to the relatively small numbers, but in general, the rate in Hull has been higher than England although in most cases not statistically significantly higher. As the incidence is higher in Hull, it is not surprising that the prevalence is also higher. In 2022/23, there were 767 people per 100,000 population who were registered blindness or partially sighted among people aged 65-74 years compared to 533 per 100,000 population for England (44% higher in Hull), and the rates were 30% higher among people aged 75+ years (3,940 versus 3,031 per 100,000 population). This equates to 180 people aged 65-74 years and 720 people aged 75+ years living in Hull who are registered blindness or partially sighted.
• In the GP Patient Survey, 1.5% of all the registered patients of Hull GPs who were surveyed in Hull reported blindness or partial sight (marginally higher than England at 1.4%).
• During 2022/23, 2,270 patients registered with Hull GPs who were aged 65+ years were admitted for cataract surgery. Whilst the rate in Hull at 4,860 admissions per 100,00 population was higher than England (4,679 admissions per 100,000 population, it was among the lowest across the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board. Just prior to the pandemic, there had been just under 4,000 admissions per 100,000 population which decreased to 2,578 admissions per 100,000 population in 2020/21. The latest rates in 2021/22 and 2022/23 are the highest it has been since 2013/14 which suggests that the surgery that did not take place during 2020/21 may have simply been delayed.
• The information relating to hearing loss is more limited, but in the GP Patient Survey, 6.7% of all the registered patients of Hull GPs who were surveyed in Hull reported deafness or hearing loss which was higher than England at 6.0%.
• Visual and hearing impairment can have a profound impact on a person’s life, but there is limited information on the impact specifically in relation to Hull residents although the Global Burden of Disease estimates the percentage of years of healthy life lost due to sensory impairment out of the total years of healthy life lost due to a disability for Hull residents. Overall, sensory impairment accounted for 6.0% of all years of healthy life lost due to disability (3.6% for hearing loss, 1.7% for sight loss and 0.6% for other sensory impairment). The percentages were higher for men for all five ages (<5, 5-14, 15-49, 50-69 and 70+ years) for hearing loss and higher for all age groups except those aged 70+ years for sight loss. The percentages were much higher among older people. Sensory impairment accounted for around 2.5% of the years of healthy life lost due to disability for people aged under 50 years, but increased to 6.8% among those aged 50-69 years and to 12.9% among those aged 70+ years.
• Based on applying national prevalence estimates to Hull’s population, it is estimated that around 100 people aged 18-64 years have serious visual impairment, and an additional 1,200 people aged 65-74 years have moderate or serious visual impairment, and an additional 2,100 people aged 75+ years who have moderate or serious visual impairment although around half of them aged 75+ years will have corrective sight loss (cataracts or refractive error). Whilst the numbers affected among those aged under 75 years will not increase dramatically, it is anticipated that the numbers affected with moderate or serious visual impairment among those aged 75+ years will increase to around 3,100 by 2040 due to the ageing population. However, the current and projection estimates have not been adjusted to take into account the higher levels of deprivation in Hull, and therefore are likely to be an underestimate.
• Based on applying national prevalence estimates to Hull’s population, it is estimated that around 39,000 people aged 18+ years in Hull have some hearing loss, and a further 4,000 people aged 18+ years have severe hearing loss. There is a significant difference by age. It is modelled that around 500 people aged 18-24 will be affected by some hearing loss, but this increases to over 900 for those aged 25-34 years, to 1,600 among 35-44s, to almost 3,700 among 45-54s, to almost 8,000 among those aged 55-64 years, to over 10,000 among those aged 65-74 years, to almost 10,000 among people aged 75-84 years and to over 4,300 among those aged 85+ years. Severe hearing loss also increases with age from fewer than 500 among those aged under 54 years, to around 440 among people aged 55-64 years, around 650 among 65-74s, around 1,300 among 75-84s and to just over 1,000 among people aged 85+ years. Whilst it is projected that the numbers will decrease among people aged under 65 years by 2040 due to changes in the population, it is projected that the numbers affected by some hearing loss will increase from around 24,200 to 30,500 by 2040 among those aged 65+ years, and that severe hearing loss among this age group will increase over that same time period from 1,040 to 1,470 people affected. Again, there has been no adjustment for deprivation, so these figures could represent an underestimate for Hull.
• Almost all (99.1%) of newborn babies had their hearing screening test in Hull during 2022/23.

The Population Affected – Why Is It Important?

Visual Impairment

As the World Health Organisation state eye conditions are remarkably common, and those who live long enough will experience at least one eye condition in their lifetime. They state that vision, the most dominant of our senses, plays a critical role in every facet and stage of our lives. We take vision for granted, but without vision, we struggle to learn to walk, to read, to participate in school and in work. Young children with early onset irreversible severe vision impairment can experience delayed motor, language, emotional, support and cognitive development, with lifelong consequences. Children and adults can experience lower levels of educational attainment, lower rates of employment and higher rates of depression and anxiety. In the case of older adults, vision impairment can contribute to social isolation, difficulty walking, a higher risk of falls and fractures, and a greater likelihood of early entry into nursing or care homes.

Prevention of sight loss help people maintain independent lives as far as possible and reduce needs for social care support, which would be necessary if sight was lost permanently. Research by the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) suggests that 50% of cases of blindness and serious sight loss could be prevented if detected and treated in time. Whilst this is mainly due to uncorrected refractive error and untreated cataract, the research implies that the take up of sight tests is lower than would be expected. This is particularly the case within areas of social deprivation. Low take up of sight tests can lead to later detection of preventable conditions and increased sight loss due to late intervention. Risk of sight loss is heavily influenced by health inequalities, including ethnicity, deprivation and age. Sight loss can increase the risk of depression, falls and hip fractures, loss of independence and living in poverty.

The Law Commission report (Adult Social Care, May 2011) recommended that local authorities should maintain a register of blind and partially sighted people and this recommendation has been accepted by Department of Health and Social Care Ministers. Completion of a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) by a consultant ophthalmologist, initiates the process of registration with a local authority and leads to access to services.

Sight loss information is collected at the Moorlands Eye Hospital, and records the number of people with a certification of visual impairment. It will not include all people with partial sight loss, only those where it is known and recorded. Local authorities also have information on the number of people who are registered disabled who are blind or have sight loss, and again this will not include all individuals affected. Information is also available from the GP Patient Survey.

Hearing Impairment

The World Health Organisation summarises information on deafness and hearing loss, and provides information on the impact on a person’s quality of life.

A person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing – hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears – is said to have hearing loss. Hearing loss may be mild, moderate, severe or profound. It can affect one ear or both ears and leads to difficulty in hearing conversational speech or loud sounds.

Hard of hearing refers to people with hearing loss ranging from mild to severe. People who are hard of hearing usually communicate through spoken language and can benefit from hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices as well as captioning.

Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 35 decibels (dB) in the better hearing ear. Nearly 80% of people with disabling hearing loss live in low- and middle-income countries. The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, among those older than 60 years, over 25% are affected by disabling hearing loss.

Deaf people mostly have profound hearing loss, which implies very little or no hearing. They often use sign language for communication.

There are many causes of deafness and hearing loss both in the prenatal and perinatal periods, as well as throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

The World Health Organisation state that when unaddressed, hearing loss impacts many aspects of life at individual level which include:

• Communication and speech;
• Cognition;
• Social isolation, loneliness and stigma;
• Impact on society and the economy;
• Effects on years lived with disability and disability-adjusted life years;
• Education and employment with adults with hearing loss having a much higher rate of unemployment, and those who are in employment are working at lower grades of employment compared to the general workforce.

The Hull Picture

Numbers of People Affected in Hull

Visual Impairment

Whilst the rate of sight loss from glaucoma and diabetes is similar in Hull compared to England for 2022/23, the rate of sight loss through age-related macular degeneration and all sight loss certifications is higher.

The figures presented are the numbers with preventable sight loss per 100,000 population, and are given as crude rates (unadjusted for differences in the age structure of the different populations).

The final indicator gives all sight loss certifications for all causes and all ages. Despite the name of the indicator, the definition states the indicator is the total number of new certifications of visual impairment which are from all causes both preventable and non-preventable. The indicator related to age-related macular degeneration does not mention ‘preventable’ in the definition so it is not clear if this is all cases or only those considered to be preventable.

Hull has a younger population compared to some other more rural local authorities in the the region, so would ordinarily expect that the preventable sight loss registrations would be lower. However, this is counter-balanced by Hull’s higher levels of deprivation which will likely increase the prevalence of preventable sight loss.

There is some year-on-year variability of the rate of sight loss caused by age-related macular degeneration among those aged 65+ years in Hull. Since 2014/15 the rates have generally been higher in Hull compared to England with the majority of these years statistically significantly higher for Hull.

During 2022/23, there were 59 people in Hull who had certified sight loss caused by age-related macular degeneration among those aged 65+ years

There is some year-on-year variability of the rate of preventable sight loss from glaucoma as would be expected given the Small Numbers of people affected in Hull.

For the majority of years, the rate in Hull was higher than for England, although there were only two years where the rate in Hull was statistically significantly higher in Hull.

During 2022/23, there were 17 people aged 40+ years in Hull who had a new certification of visual impairment that was considered to be preventable and was due to glaucoma.

There is some year-on-year variability of the rate of preventable sight loss from diabetes as would be expected given the Small Numbers of people affected in Hull.

For the majority of years, the rate in Hull was higher than for England, although there were only two years where the rate in Hull was statistically significantly higher in Hull.

During 2022/23, there were 7 people aged 12+ years in Hull who had a new certification of visual impairment that was considered to be preventable and was due to diabetes.

There is some year-on-year variability of the rate of sight loss, although for all years from 2010/11 to 2022/23, the certification rate is higher in Hull and statistically significantly so for five of the 13 years.

During 2022/23, there were 134 people in Hull who had a new certification of visual impairment.

The above indicators examined the new cases or the incidence of sight loss, but there is also information on the total numbers or prevalence of people who are registered blind or with partial sight for those aged 65-74 years and 75+ years.

The figures presented are the numbers with preventable sight loss per 100,000 population, and are given as crude rates (unadjusted for differences in the age structure of the different populations).

For 2022/23, the number of people registered blind or partially sighted was 44% higher among those aged 65-74 years and 30% higher among those aged 75+ years in Hull compared to England.

The number of people registered blind or partially sighted in Hull was consistently higher than England among those aged 65-74 years.

For 2022/23, there were 180 people registered blind or partially sighted in Hull among those aged 65-74 years.

With the exception of 2007/08, the number of people registered blind or partially sighted in Hull was consistently higher than England among those aged 75+ years.

For 2022/23, there were 720 people registered blind or partially sighted in Hull among those aged 75+ years.

Information is also available on the percentage of people aged 16+ years reporting blindness or partial sight loss from the GP patient survey. The percentage of registered patients aged 16+ years was 1.5% for Hull (03F) which was higher than England (1.4%) for 2023.

The GP Patient Survey involves a relatively large sample, but it is possible (with all surveys) that there is a difference between those who responded and those who did not, so it is not known how representative the sample is in relation to Hull’s overall population. For the GP Patient Survey in 2024, 9,842 questionnaires were sent out with 2,537 returned (26%), although the number of questionnaires returned and the response rate have reduced over recent years (for instance, in 2021, 12,458 questionnaires were sent out with 4,224 (34%) returned).

The percentage of registered patients aged 16+ years reporting blindness or partial sight loss has been consistently higher in Hull compared to England.

Cataract Surgery

Whilst the directly standardised rate of cataract surgery among patients registered with Hull GPs among people aged 65+ years for Hull Integrated Care Board (03F) is lower in Hull at 4,860 admissions per 100,000 population compared to England (4,679 per 100,000 population) for 2022/23, the rate in Hull is among the lowest across the Integrated Care Board.

During 2022/23, there were 2,270 admissions among patients aged 65+ years who were registered with Hull GPs who had cataract surgery which is similar to the previous year. Whilst there has been some year-on-year variability in Hull, between 2013/14 and 2017/18 the rate had been just over 4,000 admissions per 100,000 population although the rate was particularly high in 2016/17 with a rate of 4,743 per 100,000 population. For both 2018/19 and 2019/20, the rate fell to below 4,000 admissions per 100,000 population in Hull, and fell sharply to 2,578 admissions per 100,000 population for 2020/21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the numbers increasing to a high for both 2021/22 and 2022/23, it would appear that some of the surgery that might have taken place during 2020/21 may have simply have been delayed.

Hearing Impairment

Information is also available on the percentage of people aged 16+ years reporting deafness or partial hearing loss from the GP patient survey. The percentage of registered patients aged 16+ years was 6.7% for Hull (03F) which was higher than England (6.0%) for 2023.

The GP Patient Survey involves a relatively large sample, but it is possible (with all surveys) that there is a difference between those who responded and those who did not, so it is not known how representative the sample is in relation to Hull’s overall population. For the GP Patient Survey in 2024, 9,842 questionnaires were sent out with 2,537 returned (26%), although the number of questionnaires returned and the response rate have reduced over recent years (for instance, in 2021, 12,458 questionnaires were sent out with 4,224 (34%) returned).

The percentage of registered patients aged 16+ years reporting deafness or partial hearing loss has generally been higher in Hull compared to England.

Impact on Health

Visual and hearing impairment can have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life, but there is limited information on the impact specifically in relation to residents of Hull, although the Global Burden of Disease presents information on the impact of sensory impairment on quality of life with data modelled for Hull for 2021.

Global Burden of Disease presents information on the years of healthy life lost due to a disability (YLD), with the percentage that each disease and disability accounts towards the total years of life with a disability presented.

Overall, sensory loss accounts for 6% of all disability as measured in relation to years of living with a disability with hearing accounting for 3.6%, blindness accounting for 1.7% and other sensory impairment accounting for 0.6%.

Based on this information, a higher percentage of men have their quality of life affected through hearing loss at all ages, as well as a higher percentage for blindness for all ages except for people aged 70+ years. The impact of sensory impairment increase with age. Among men and women aged 70+ years, hearing loss accounts for 9.8% and 7.8% of disability in relation to total healthy years of life lost due to disability, and blindness accounts for a further 1.7% and 1.8% of disability.

Gender	Age	Hearing (% YLD)	Blindness (% YLD)	Other senses (% YLD)	All senses (% YLD)
Males	<5	0.7	1.2	0.8	2.6
Males	5-14	1.1	1.4	0.4	2.9
Males	15-49	1.5	1.0	0.3	2.9
Males	50-69	5.0	2.0	0.7	7.6
Males	70+	9.8	2.7	1.0	13.5
Males	All ages	4.2	1.7	0.6	6.4
Females	<5	0.6	1.2	0.7	2.4
Females	5-14	0.9	1.3	0.3	2.5
Females	15-49	1.1	0.8	0.3	2.2
Females	50-69	3.3	2.0	0.9	6.2
Females	70+	7.8	3.6	1.1	12.5
Females	All ages	3.2	1.8	0.7	5.8
Persons	<5	0.6	1.2	0.7	2.5
Persons	5-14	1.0	1.3	0.4	2.7
Persons	15-49	1.3	0.9	0.3	2.5
Persons	50-69	4.1	2.0	0.8	6.8
Persons	70+	8.6	3.2	1.1	12.9
Persons	All ages	3.6	1.7	0.6	6.0

The Global Burden of Disease also presents information on disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in a similar manner by presenting the percentage each disease or disability contributes towards the total disability-adjusted life years.

The percentages to which sensory impairment contributed to disability-adjusted life years is relatively small in relation to others diseases, mental health conditions and external causes that contribute towards disability-adjusted life years. The impact on life is significant for the people affected with sensory impairment, but there are more people affected more severely with other fatal and non-fatal conditions.

Gender	Age	Hearing (% DALY)	Blindness (% DALY)	Other senses (% DALY)	All senses (% DALY)
Males	<5	0.14	0.26	0.18	0.58
Males	5-14	1.07	1.33	0.39	2.79
Males	15-49	0.78	0.53	0.14	1.45
Males	50-69	1.64	0.64	0.22	2.50
Males	70+	1.85	0.51	0.19	2.55
Males	All ages	1.43	0.57	0.19	2.19
Females	<5	0.15	0.30	0.17	0.62
Females	5-14	0.78	1.14	0.30	2.22
Females	15-49	0.83	0.59	0.24	1.66
Females	50-69	1.57	0.95	0.42	2.94
Females	70+	2.01	0.93	0.29	3.23
Females	All ages	1.50	0.84	0.31	2.65
Persons	<5	0.15	0.28	0.18	0.61
Persons	5-14	0.91	1.22	0.34	2.47
Persons	15-49	0.80	0.56	0.18	1.54
Persons	50-69	1.61	0.78	0.31	2.70
Persons	70+	1.93	0.73	0.24	2.90
Persons	All ages	1.46	0.69	0.25	2.40

Newborn Hearing Screening

In 2022/23, almost all of infants in Hull had their hearing screening test within 4-5 weeks, and the percentage is higher than England and the region.

Further information including trends over time relating to the newborn hearing screening is given under Screening and Vaccinations under Health Factors within Children and Young People.

Current and Projected Numbers in Hull with Various Health Needs

The Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information (PANSI) and the Projecting Older People Population Information Service (POPPI) provide current estimates and future projections at local authority level of the number of people with different health needs.

They use estimates for the estimated prevalence from different surveys and research which have generally been derived at a national level (generally different prevalence estimates for different age groups for men and women separately). They then apply these prevalence figures to Hull’s population. For instance, if the prevalence among males in England in a specific age group is 5% and there are an estimated 500 men living in Hull in that age groups, they would estimate there were 25 men in that age group living in Hull with that condition. For many conditions, there is an increased prevalence in populations with higher levels of deprivation, and in most cases, deprivation is not taken into consideration. Thus in many cases, these estimates for Hull are likely to underestimate the numbers in Hull due to the high levels of deprivation in Hull.

Further definitions and information is available from www.pansi.org.uk and www.poppi.org.uk.

Visual Impairment

It is estimated that around 100 people in Hull aged 18-64 years have serious visual impairment.

Age	2023	2025	2030	2035	2040
18-24	18	18	21	21	19
25-34	27	26	24	25	27
35-44	22	22	23	22	20
45-54	19	18	18	19	20
55-64	20	20	18	17	16
Total 18-64	106	105	104	104	103

An additional 3,400 people aged 65+ years have moderate or serious visual impairment, although around half of those aged 75+ years with moderate or serious visual impairment will have correctible sight loss (cataracts or refractive error). This represents a potential population with an unmet need. If these people are able to receive the necessary treatment or support, there would be around 1,100 people aged 75+ years with moderate or serious visual impairment.

Severity	Age	2023	2025	2030	2035	2040
Moderate or severe	65-74	1,254	1,288	1,422	1,450	1,355
Moderate or severe	75+	2,194	2,368	2,554	2,802	3,112
Registrable eye condition	75+	1,184	1,222	1,318	1,446	1,606

Hearing Impairment

Among those aged 18-64 years, it is estimated that almost 15,000 adults in Hull have some hearing loss with around 900 having severe hearing loss. The numbers are projected to decrease slightly in the 18-64 year age group.

Severity	Age	2023	2025	2030	2035	2040
Some hearing loss	18-24	498	510	569	578	539
Some hearing loss	25-34	917	888	821	837	907
Some hearing loss	35-44	1,599	1,636	1,721	1,688	1,551
Some hearing loss	45-54	3,674	3,566	3,321	3,611	3,777
Some hearing loss	55-64	7,935	7,984	7,450	6,730	6,370
Some hearing loss	Total 18-65	14,623	14,584	13,881	13,444	13,144
Severe hearing loss	18-24	0	0	0	0	0
Severe hearing loss	25-34	120	116	104	97	109
Severe hearing loss	35-44	186	193	196	182	171
Severe hearing loss	45-54	160	155	142	155	163
Severe hearing loss	55-64	442	447	419	379	353
Severe hearing loss	Total 18-65	908	912	861	813	796

Among those aged 65+ years, it is estimated that over 24,000 people have some hearing loss and almost 3,000 have severe hearing loss; these numbers are projected to increase substantially by 2040 to over 30,000 with some hearing loss and around 4,000 with severe hearing loss.

Severity	Age	2023	2025	2030	2035	2040
Some hearing loss	65-74	10,178	10,370	11,399	11,894	11,194
Some hearing loss	75-84	9,667	10,085	11,390	11,679	13,127
Some hearing loss	85+	4,348	4,371	4,495	5,714	6,155
Some hearing loss	Total 65+	24,193	24,825	27,284	29,287	30,477
Severe hearing loss	65-74	655	667	733	766	722
Severe hearing loss	75-84	1,270	1,318	1,657	1,626	1,811
Severe hearing loss	85+	1,038	1,044	1,073	1,364	1,470
Severe hearing loss	Total 65+	2,964	3,029	3,463	3,757	4,003

Strategic Need and Service Provision

Visual Impairment

Although effective interventions exist to address the two leading causes of vision impairment, namely optical correction for refractive errors and surgery for cataract, there remains a large unmet need for care. Spectacles are the most common intervention used worldwide to compensate for refractive error, as well as contact lenses and refractive surgeries. Spectacles and cataract surgery are both highly cost-effective interventions that can substantially improve a person’s quality of life. Treatment and care for many eye conditions, such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy require long-term monitoring to control the progression of the condition. Vision impairment that cannot be corrected or reversed requires rehabilitation measures which include braille reading, counselling and home skills training, mobility training with white canes, and digital assistive technologies which can ensure free, independent and safe mobility.

As a result it is important that people have their eyes regularly tested particularly older people and people who have other conditions which can affect sight such as diabetes.

Hearing Impairment

It is important that people with hearing loss can function at their optimum and be as independent as possible in everyday activities. This might include provision of hearing technologies such as hearing aids or implants, speech and language therapy, training in the use of sign language, the provision of hearing assistive technology such as frequency modulation and loops systems, alerting and telecommunication devices, captioning services and sign language interpretation, and counselling, training and support to enhance engagement in education, work and community life.

Resources

World Health Organisation. Deafness and hearing loss, 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss

The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Fingertips: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/

Global Burden of Disease, 2021. https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/

Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information – PANSI. www.pansi.org.uk

Projecting Older People Population Information Service – POPPI. www.poppi.org.uk

Updates

This page was last updated / checked on 1 November 2024.

This page is due to be updated / checked in March 2025.